|
When you think back on your childhood, and your mind wanders to those lazy summer days when school was out and the only things you were concerned with were dilemmas such as whether or not your friend could come play, or when the ice cream truck would come around next. What did you spend those summer days doing? Watching cartoons, splashing in the pool, running through the sprinkler, eating popsicles, playing at the park, and catching fireflies at dusk.
Did you ever go to summer camp? Summer camp memories include activities like swimming, arts and crafts, canoeing, ropes courses, woodshop, hikes in the woods, and roasting marshmallows over bonfires. Ah, the carefree days of summer…but what if your “carefree” days were filled with life-threatening diseases like leukemia, cancer, or sickle-cell anemia? What if you were autistic or had a learning disability? Suddenly those summer days take on a new look.
I spent my summer working at two special summer camps. The first was Camp Rainbow. Camp Rainbow is held in St. Louis, Missouri, and it is a camp for children with cancer and blood disorders. Camp Rainbow is always the most touching, meaningful, exciting week of my entire year. This summer marked my eighth year there. Camp Rainbow is a non-profit organization that is run completely by volunteers. Campers are brought from St John’s Mercy Hospital, Children’s Hospital, and Cardinal Glennon Hospital and range in age from six to thirteen. Recently, “Mini-Camp” was added which is a day program for three to five year olds. Mini-Camp does all the same activities as the rest of the camp, but on a smaller scale.
Camp Rainbow is run just like any other summer camp with activities ranging from swimming, ropes courses, sports, and arts and crafts, to music and nature. There is a staff of nurses and doctors present all week to administer chemotherapy treatments, and fix up the every-day scrapes and boo-boos. Each camper gets their own individual counselor so that they can have constant one-on-one attention all week.
The children at Camp Rainbow are amazing. It takes a uniquely strong and amazing child to live with a life-threatening disease and still have the bravery to live each day to the fullest. Every year at Camp Rainbow I am reminded of the importance of slowing down and appreciating the small elements of life. I am always awed at the energy and excitement that comes forth when a new game is introduced, the radio is turned on for dancing, or there’s ice cream for dessert. At cabin meetings before bedtime, when the children each share their favorite part of the day, they share things such as “My favorite part of the day was getting to be with my counselor,” or “My favorite thing today was playing in the pool with my friends.” How simple are things like Simon Says, cowboys and Indians, charades, the YMCA dance, and squirting each other with water? These are things that most people would overlook, take for granted, or push aside on any given day, but not at Camp Rainbow. These are the elements that bring huge smiles, laughter, and feelings of belonging, friendship, and unbridled joy and happiness.
One little girl named Shelby said that “At Camp Rainbow, you’re not afraid to take off your hat and be who you really are… And also, you get to say ‘Hey, look what I still do!’ and that’s why I think Camp Rainbow is the funnest place to be!” This statement is so true. Where else can these special kids take their hats off and splash in the pool with saran wrap and medical tape covering their Broviac access ports, and not think twice about it?
I’m sure everyone knows the classic song from The Wizard of Oz, “If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why oh why can’t I?” Camp Rainbow gives everyone the opportunity to fly over the rainbow.
The other camp I worked at wasn’t so close to home. Camp Ramapo is located in Rhinebeck, New York. Camp Ramapo is a camp for children with special needs. These “special needs” range from autism, behavioral disorders, and bi-polar disorder, to learning disabilities. Some children come to Camp Ramapo from domestic violence shelters, and some come from group homes. This camp is much bigger than Camp Rainbow. Where Camp Rainbow has one, one-week session with about sixty campers, Camp Ramapo has one, two-week session and two, three-week sessions with about two-hundred campers in each session. Campers range in age from four to sixteen.
Activities at Camp Ramapo are very similar to those at any other camp. There’s a lake for kayaking, canoeing, and diving. There’s a pool where swimming lessons are taught to every child four times a week, several sports fields, a baseball diamond, woodshop, cooking, ceramics, arts and crafts, a mini-golf course, a playground, ropes courses, two basketball courts, hiking paths, and bike paths.
Many of the children who attend Camp Ramapo don’t have many chances or experiences with success, so this camp gives them a chance to succeed and prove to others and to themselves that they can do what they put their minds to. All games end in a “Ramapo Tie” and everyone learns communication skills and teamwork skills.
Spending an entire summer with special, amazing children has really made me re-evaluate my life and re-think my priorities. Sometimes life gets a little chaotic, when there are deadlines to meet at work, papers due for school, errands to run, bills due, and meetings to attend. It’s so easy to get caught up in the rush of it all, and when that happens, you miss out on a lot. Slow down a little, it will get finished, but try to enjoy the ride as well as the destination.
Have you stopped recently to watch a caterpillar spin a cocoon, or count dandelions, or give names to each stuffed animal on the bed? Have you smiled at a stranger, held someone’s hand, sang a silly song, played hopscotch, or played “I Spy?” Have you made up crazy stories about talking animals, or looked for shapes in the clouds? Have you made a wish on a star, or blown bubbles in your milk? Life is way too short to miss out on all the little smiles that the simple elements can bring.
We can all learn a lot from children. Did you know that adults laugh an average of twelve times a day, and children laugh an average of four hundred and seventeen times a day? Too often we brush aside the games, the bubbles, the laughter, and the knock-knock jokes that can make or break your attitude for the entire day. Kids will be kids…and Camp Ramapo and Camp Rainbow give them the chance to be just that.
- Jessica J. Davis |
