At camp, it’s common to make friendship bracelets out of embroidery thread, and have your arms full of them by the end of the session.
After camp, some of us make them religiously to help us remember camp, or to prepare them so all of our friends can have some next year.
And then, all of a sudden, we stop. We stop thinking about making bracelets, we stop all the chevrons, all the arrowheads, all the Chinese staircases, and even more. We forget about the bracelets.
But it’s not really the bracelets that are so important. Even if our campers beg us for some, year after year. It’s the memories and the friendships that those bracelets stand for and remind us of day after day.
They remind us of the sweat and pain in our legs during the climb up Butternut. They remind us of the many stairs we have to climb between waterfront and tent row. They remind us of our campers keeping staff up until 3 o’clock in the morning, and the trouble they were in until you saw the tears in their eyes during Shalom.
The bonds we make at camp are unbreakable. And the memories, unforgettable.
The time has not yet come for me, but I know when I stop making bracelets this year, my friends and memories will be more than just an entry in my journal, but a stamp on my heart.
“And in September, I will remember, my happy camping days with you.”
Love, Heinz
