Sunday Snippet: Another WeHaKee Summer into The Mist!
This morning we said our good-byes to our Mother/Daughter/Auntie campers as well as, with great sadness, to the remarkable WeHaKee staff of 2011. It was bittersweet as we revealed in the wonderful community we had created, yet wallowed in it’s heartbreaking and inevitable conclusion. Although the summer camp season may now be behind us for 2011, we plan to continue our Sunday conversations about camp life and the community that is WeHaKee!
WeHaKee was shrouded in a fog this morning, bringing to mind the legend of Brigadoon – where a mystical village emerges from the mist for just one day every 100 years. Like Brigadoon, Camp WeHaKee arises to life in early June, quickly blossoms into a vibrant and energetic community over the next several weeks, only to drift off into our memories by the middle of August (fortunately, this is an annual occurance and lasts for more than one day!). Over the course of those 73 long summer days however, a community of energetic, excited (and at times a bit anxious) campers guided by compassionate, enthusiastic and fun-filled camp counselors create life-changing relationships that are destined to impact them for the rest ot their lives! For those of us blessed with the opportunity to observe & participate in this for many years, it never ceases to amaze us how powerful and magical the Camp WeHaKee experience really is!
With heavy hearts, we reluctantly accept that WeHaKee Summer 2011 has now slipped into our memories. To everyone who was a part of the 2011 WeHaKee community, thank you for blessing us with your gifts, energy and love these past two and half months. Nothing will ever take away the fun in the cabins, in and on the water, on the courts, on the trails, in the chapel, and among great friends that we have shared together! The love shared on the dusty path of cabin row, along the Chicagami Trail to the tee pee and all throughout WeHaKee will always be in our hearts and will warm the eventual winter chill we will soon be experiencing.
It’s time now to start our new journey to WeHaKee Summer 2012! We’ll start by listening to your thoughts shared in your evaluations of your camp experiences looking for ways we can make it even better. Then we will plan our visits, perhaps to a community near you, to help other girls learn about the WeHaKee magic! We will continue by searching and assembling another remarkable group of dedicated young women who will help bring the WeHaKee community back to life – many will be returning for another summer on Hunter Lake and several will be there for the first time. All in preparation for another terrific summer at WeHaKee Camp for Girls!
Actually, preparations for summer 2012 have already begun as we already have many campers signed up for sessions next summer. We hope you will be able to come back to join us and encourage a friend or two to come, too!
Wherever your journey takes you these next months and years, we are so glad that your path lead you to WeHaKee this summer. God Bless each of you and in the words of Mark Twain ~ “Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth!” Happy camping all year long!!
