The entry.

Dear Diary;

It happens every time I go to Davern. Something in me clicks and changes and I become a better person. My life changes… shifts. The people are the most amazing women you’ll ever meet in your life (with some exceptions, of course). This year was truly wonderful.

It was a fluke that I ended up going back to Davern this summer. I had heard about the work weekend through facebook and I recieved an open invitation that was sent to all the alumni. Because I live so close and because I was out of a job, I was free and decided to go help out. I almost changed my mind a hundred times because I was unsure of who was going to be there and if I would know anyone – but fate pushed me and I met Kim, who was the new director.

She and I chatted for a while about my time at Davern and her time and we realized that we had just missed each other by a year (she was there in 01 and I came in 02) and then after I left she came back to fix the place. She told me that they were looking for a wellness coordinator and when I asked about what the job would entail, she explained a little, asked me what my quals were and then offered to interview me right then for the position. Thanks to some quick thinking, my love of all things Davern and the help of Mandy (who I’ll write more about later) I was offered the job a few days later and my summer adventure began.

The summer, in general, was great. There were times when I was so overwhelmed with the things going on that I wanted to curl up and cry- but the best thing about being at Davern was the staff team who did everything they could to help out and make you feel better. Occasionally, you get a staff member who weakens the team- and we definately had some of those who came and went, but the amazing people stayed all the way through. I dealt with everything from strep throat to headlice to a possible H1N1 case and twisted ankles. I had ear infections, pink eye, allergic reactions and a head trauma requiring an ambulance. We had bullies who were sent home, I had doors slammed in my face when I dropped kids off and we had threats from a kid who wanted to kill herself.

I also had a million hugs, a million laughs, a million smiles, a million life lessons, a million opportunities, a million songs and a million great memories. In the end, it all evens out.

This year was a lot different from the years I was there before. There were better rules and procedures and standards and they were being followed and enforced. Camp wasn’t just a free-for-all anymore, it was a structured, safe, encouraging environment for both the staff and the kids. My "boss" was incredible – I’ve never gotten so close to someone in that sort of role before. She was more like a cool co-worker than a boss and she wanted it to be that way. She single handedly brought Davern back from the edge and turned it into a thriving camp.  Kim told me stories about the last "boss" that I worked with and how she ruined camp. There were so many things that were going on that I didn’t know about… the "boss" from 05 and a lot of the staff were HORRIBLE people. The year after I left, some major shit went down at camp that wrecked it all. In 07, that bitch of a "boss" had made such a mess that Davern was close to being completely shut down. They were thousands of dollars in debt, they failed the OCA visit for accreditation and there were a lot of shady things going on… that’s when fuckface was fired and Kim was hired to clean up the mess. It was because of her (and the resource team, including myself) that we scored 100% on our OCA visit this year. We worked our butts off all summer to get things in place and when the day came (which happened to be my birthday) for us to be evaluated, we rocked it.

There were lots of memorable moments from the summer – some good, some not so good. I remember vividly the day a camper fell to the ground and went limp and complained that her head was hurting because she had hit it really had earlier. She wouldn’t let anyone even touch the back of her head- she screamed in pain. I made my very first call to an ambulance and raced behind it in the camp truck.
I remember the day it was sooooo hot a humid and we decided to cancel all activities and have a beach party. Mel, Jess and I really bonded a lot that day. We swam and played games and laughed and made a new Fairytales lyric board that will hopefully get used every year.

I remember the Super Hero day when Mel, Jess, Rebs and I dressed up as supers and "saved" Kim at the climbing wall. It was pure luck that we were on our way there to surprise the kids who were supposed to be climibing. We met them on the way out and they told us that Kim had got the truck stuck in the mud. We played "Eye of the Tiger" and strutted down the road to help save the day and push the truck out. It was hilarious and amazing.

I remember the Alien theme day when I spent all the night before running around and putting half a hand print on everything- including the camp truck. We painted ourselves and acted silly and had so much fun. Then we drove the camp truck around for weeks before remembering to clean the alien hand prints off.

I remember when Mandy taught me how to play a song on the guitar and I learned it in about 20 minutes. I was- and still am- amazed at how I picked it up so quickly. I still learning chords and haven’t mastered any other songs yet- but I’m determined to do it.

I remember my birthday and not being upset that it wasn’t as special as I’d hoped it would be.

I remember a bunch of girls coming to visit who I remembered from 2002 and 2003- including Emily, who I was really looking forward to seeing.

I remember many sick kids having to go home because they had fevers………….
I remember a camper coming back the next session because she got better!

I remember writing our resource tag in the cabin…
I remember the huge storm and tornado warnings
I remember watching the meteor shower on hill top
I remember singing to cabins
I remember having only about 10 showers all summer (I know!)
I remember bonding with people and making plans to get together soon.

I remember crying at the last campfire because I missed it all- except for the last song which I was supposed to participate in, but because something happened and I didn’t have time to prepare, I watched as another staff member took my place for that special song with Mandy- a special person, and carried on without me. I remember my heart breaking at that moment because I broke a promise to Mandy that I would do that song with her. I remember feeling angry at Lauren for stepping on toes and jumping in when she was asked not to.

I remember Mandy- my camper for all the past years I was there- all grown up and wonderful and smart and an amazing counsellor. I remember the beautiful letter she wrote to me that made me cry and smile and break down on the last day.

I remember recieving a mug as a gift for working at Davern for so long… next year I’ll get a blanket if I go back.

There is more I could write, but it’s midnight and I need to sleep.