The Sound of Music
“The Quad is alive, with the sound of campers….”
There is no mistaking, it is summer camp season. I walked onto the Quad this morning from the big parking lot by Huffman and you could hear screams of glee, shrieks, mayhem, from the Chapel. It was the cheerleaders. What they were so excited about I know not, but boy could they make some noise.
Out my window I can see at least 20 kids playing frisbee. Lots of others walking around. The sports field near the watertower and Worrell Professional Center was full of field hockey players this morning, part of Jen Averill’s camp. I share a very special bond with Jen - our sons were born just days apart from each other; I think she still might have been in the hospital when I was admitted. If I had a daughter, she’s the kind of coach I’d want to entrust her to. I think the world of her.
Lucky for our campers, the weather here feels like June as opposed to the August-like meltdown we’d been having. It’s sunny and no doubt warm, but low 80s and a breeze instead of the mid-90s, which is always a little scary for outdoor camps.
I passed a huge gaggle of young campers at lunch - kids in the 6-8 age range I’d guess - and was struck by a very familiar smell: it smelled like my son’s daycare. And then I realized, the smell is sunscreen. Just like I slather it on my boy before he goes to school, these young fellows (or their moms) had slicked them up too. Funny to have linked the smell of sunscreen with the idea of large groups of kids, but that association exists in my mind.
It’s great to see a Quad full of young kids. As much as I enjoy the advantages of parking during the summers, when the students aren’t here, we do miss them.