As a mother of a not-so-sportsy kid, I enter each summer with a little trepidation. J is a great kid, of course, but he doesn’t long to toss the ball around the back yard at the end of the day. He rides his bike. Plays the piano. He’s a really good drawer. Here we are at Highlands, where the guys are out playing basketball and baseball and lacrosse. Soccer, football, tennis. Not his thing. We are now in *his* 7th week here at camp. Our summers are a little different than most campers. We get here two weeks before camp starts, and we stay after camp ends. It has the potential to get….long. I worry. Has the magic worn off?
Yesterday he tracked me down. All smiles. “Mom, I dropped a ski. I couldn’t get my foot in the binding, but I was so close!” Seconds later, Ross walked by and said, “This kid! His hitting has improved SO much! He really worked hard on his swing AC and he was making great contact with the ball.” J was beaming. I got that prideful, swelley, prickly teary-eyed feeling. It wasn’t that I was so happy he’d hit the ball. It was seeing the look of accomplishment on his face. It was seeing this kid who can get down on himself for not being good at shooting hoops experience a true sense of pride.
He has been working on that ski drop all summer. He’s been encouraged to keep plugging away at ACs in baseball. At summer camp at Highlands, the structures are in place for him to stick with things. He’s got a huge network of guys, both staff and campers, encouraging him to set goals, work hard and make progress. All that, and he has time. Real time to improve. Time that in our day-to-day in Gainesville – where we are rushing to this, rushing to that, making dinner, doing homework – just doesn’t exist.
Maybe this summer isn’t too long. I’m going to slowly back away from my back-to-school shopping and I’m going to go sit in the boat and watch our campers have their successes, one Achievement Credit at a time. I’m going to watch these guys enjoy every last second of “camp time,” where they don’t rush, they make progress, they improve their skills, they have fun. I’m going to go watch them make small steps toward a better self. I’m going to go watch them be boys.
And on that note…
I ❤ CH // tracy b.
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[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/blog072712/achievement10.jpg” caption=”Boys have success in everything from riflery to kayaking.”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/blog072712/achievement09.jpg” caption=”Adventure is a great place for the younger boys to gain confidence.”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/blog072712/achievement08.jpg” caption=”Working on ACs in baseball!”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/blog072712/achievement07.jpg” caption=”Working on ACs in baseball!”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/blog072712/achievement06.jpg” caption=”Working on ACs in baseball!”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/blog072712/achievement05.jpg” caption=”Working on ACs in baseball!”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/blog072712/achievement04.jpg” caption=”Working on ACs in baseball!”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/blog072712/achievement03.jpg” caption=”Working on ACs in baseball!”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/blog072712/achievement02.jpg” caption=”…and football!”]
[image link=”https://www.camphighlands.com/wp/wp-content/themes/camp-highland-for-boys/images/blog072712/achievement01.jpg” caption=”…and football!”]
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