For our recurring activity called ” The Human Experience,” which is part of our anti-racism events, we started our summer with the idea of an iceberg.
Icebergs have 10% of their mass bobbing above the surface while 90% lies submerged. Thus, the theory goes, every camper and staff person has an iceberg made up of things we may notice quickly — skin color, activity preferences, style, and temperament — and things that take time or we may never even know, like family histories, past experiences, and hopes or dreams.
When we all arrived at Tamarack Farm, our submerged ‘bergs bumped and jostled in our little pool. Throughout the summer, we have brought more and more of our histories and personalities to the surface. I believe that is a real reason that camp has been so smooth for the second half of this summer. The differences between us are celebrated and augmented by our common experiences here. The superficial has melted and we are seeing our true selves.
That smoothness has seeped into Fair preparations as well. As I mentioned last week, the campers have been stepping into these leadership roles and this past week they put the real work in. Every summer, we sew a quilt sell off in a raffle. So, campers have worked diligently to design it, piece it together, make the batting, and quilt it together. Another set of campers have been cutting and building 15-20 Adirondack chairs (refer to our website for details). There also has been a dilly bean and general pickling bonanza in the garden and we will have a line up of hand silk-screened shirts.
In short, it has been a productive week. Work is love made visible, as we say, and the love is everywhere these days. I really have been touched by the work that has been done and by the care that all the campers are showing each other. I cannot wait for this one last week of magic.