We’re back in Tucson, and guess what? It’s hot! Not just a little warm…really, really hot. The kind of heat that smacks you a good one when you walk out the door. That’s what it is like in Tucson in late August/early September. But y’know what? People adapt. Adaptability is a tremendous skill to have, and one that we saw in great abundance this past summer. We want to point it out to you in case you didn’t recognize it (in yourselves if you were at camp, or in your kids if you’re a camp parent).
Many of you reading this just spent a summer together having a great time. You hung out
You learned to adapt to a set schedule that may have included things you weren’t crazy
about doing (think cabin cleanup). A hassle at first for many, and while you may not have ever come to love it, still you did it just about every day. And sometimes, when your cabin mates maybe hadn’t adapted as quickly as you, you pitched in and did more than your share. Not only is that adaptability, but it is also responsibility, contributing to a community, and practicing important habits that you’ll need your whole life. Our food at camp was great, but maybe not exactly what you like when you like it. But, you were hungry, so you ate…and you survived! In that process, you shared, waited your turn, and helped your cabin out by waitering. And you laughed a lot. We never saw a shortage of smiles in the Lodge.
Some of you had cabin groups that were all-harmonious-all-the-time. Most of you did not. Even in the most fun-loving and easy going cabin group, there were those moments, right? Someone being inconsiderate, someone messing with your bed or your stuff, someone just pushing your buttons a little bit. It happens. Sometimes you could shrug it off, sometimes you got upset. It is those times when you struggled and then pulled through on the other
end that are so awesome! There’s no place on Earth where everyone gets along perfectly with everyone else all the time. So now, when (not if) that happens again, you’ve got experience! You’ve got confidence! You’ve got coping skills!The list can go on and on. What is important, though, is why this is so important! An enormous (and growing) amount of research indicates that the ability to adapt and cope with the myriad of challenging situations that you will encounter in your lives is the single most accurate predictor of a happy, healthy, and productive adulthood. So you know that summer we just spent together? The one where you were having fun, making friends, doing awesome activities and trips? Clearly there was SO much more going on than just that, and we hope you are proud of all you’ve accomplished. You guys amaze us!!
2010 IS OUR 50TH SUMMER OF CAMPING FUN & FRIENDSHIP!! You know that already, don't you? We think it's a pretty big deal, and we plan to celebrate throughout the summer. How, you ask? Well, there's gonna be some surprises, of course, but part of our celebration is doing an extra special bunch of fixing up. We do tons every year, but this year we're going crazy. Our first major announcement (drum roll, please....) is that we are going to completely resurface all 4 tennis courts! And this ain't no touch up job. We've got the big machinery coming into camp this fall, and they're going to tear the courts up and start over. By the time you guys get to camp, the courts will be finished, crack-free, and oh so pretty and ready to play on. This will include new fencing around the courts, new net posts and nets, AND some new colors. That part we're gonna leave as a surprise.
Is there more? Absolutely, but we want to save some of that for later publications. Oh, okay...one more little leak. For the last half of the summer a small crew was working in the forest down Camp Road building our first-of-many specially designed Mountain Biking trails. They completed the trail about 10 days after camp ended, and it is just awesome! It is full of dips and peaks and banked turns and some fairly sharp turns too. While you're on it you can get completely turned around, but it is sooooo much fun. Wait till you get out there!
Our 50th summer is sure to be our greatest ever, and then the day 2nd session ends, we will begin our 50th Anniversary Reunion. This event will bring in Timberlane folks from all generations, and it'll be a blast! We're looking forward to 2010 already!!
YO PARENTS & CAMPERS: We have already sent out our re-enrollment information for the 2010 camping season via email and US Mail. As you'll see below, it has been a quick response so far, and we have several camper applications that have arrived already. We're well ahead of where we are most years already, so we encourage you to talk about camp, and if you'd like to join us for our 50th(!!) summer, please send us your application. You can apply online at http://app.camptimberlane.com, or if you would like to fill out an application with a pen and mail it to us, you can download the paper version by clicking here.CHICAGO REUNION DATE IS SET! Please mark your calendar and plan to join us for a raucous good time in Chicago. Our reunion will be held at the Vernon Hills Whirlyball Center (courtesy of the Elias Family!) on Saturday, November 7th, from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. We'll send out notices to those of you in the Chicago area in early October, but if the rest of you can find the time to travel and join us, we'd love to see you there.
We usually don't have campers to tell you about in this month's edition, but what the heck! Welcome back to the following "old-timers" who will be back again next summer: DILLON GROSS of Bannockburn, IL; DANIEL ENGEL of Buffalo Grove, IL; RICKY JACOBSON & JOSHUA SOMMERFELD of Deerfield, IL; ZACK SCHREIER of Glencoe, IL; JOEY BURSTEN and HAYDEN TURK of Bellaire, TX; JACK KAPLAN, BEN ROBERTS, & JONAH ROSENBERG of Houston, TX; JEFFREY GOLD of Sugarland, TX; ALEX KARMIN of Highland Park, IL; JESS & JORY NATHAN of Northbrook, IL;and DREW & ELI MITCHELL of Glenview, IL.
Welcome aboard to the following new campers who will join us next summer: ANDREW KARMIN of Highland Park, IL; and JAKE STEIN of Bellaire, TX.
We're just getting rolling, but we sure do appreciate everyone's enthusiasm!
Okay, folks, this is where you get to supply us with some news about you that we can share with your camp buddies. Yes, we know there's Facebook and Twitter out there, but let's not forget about this fun little section of the newsletter. So when good and fun stuff happens as you go through the school year, please pass it along to us so we can tell everyone about it. For instance: PHILIP SIEGEL just celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in Denver on August 22nd. CONNOR LEHR, GAVIN FLEISHMAN, and ELI SNYDER joined him in the celebration, as did the Israeli Consul for Culture, Media and Public Diplomacy, Shahar Azani. In Chicago, ROSS SINAR will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah on September 12th. Congrats to you both!! See? That wasn't so hard.
MICHAEL & SCOTTY BREEN are traveling together, most recently in Finland. They are enjoying themselves and getting along just fine. HANNAH JONES' soccer team in Mooresville, IN has been mopping up the competition, and Hannah has been a goal scoring machine. EMILY JONES has been studying hard and also running cross country. DEBBIE PURCELL is back at work at her child care center in Denver. HITCH, CORRIE, & CARTER HITCHENS are getting ready to move into their new house in Denver soon. While on their trip home, JOHNNY WASZCZAK and BILL MILLER paid a visit to the Hitchens' and took in a Rockies game. Bill is here in Tucson spending time with his son and daughter and grandson. RACHEL WASZCZAK is back at work as a nurse at a rehabilitation hospital in Tucson. We know we've got some of our staff traveling together, including several international folks before they head for home. If you bump into any of 'em, show them a good time and be sure to let us know!!
BRAVO TO THE SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAY BOYS & GIRLS! Jake Feiger - 9/2/1997; Greg Fus - 9/4/1955; Rick Jones - 9/9/1957; Ben Percifield - 9/10/1993; Scott Wolf - 9/11/1991; David Langebartel - 9/14/1993; David Tamsky - 9/15/1999; Steve Wezelman - 9/16/1995; David Artzi - 9/17/1993; Dusty Cohen - 9/17/1993; Jordan Fishel - 9/17/1997; Ludwig Nolasco Ruiz - 9/18/1987; Carly Povlick - 9/19/1989; Ben Rakestraw - 9/19/1997; Jordan Allen - 9/20/1997; Ross Sinar - 9/21/1996; Noah Kerwin - 9/22/1996; Chris Traill - 9/24/1990; Ian Brown - 9/25/1986; Max Weintraub - 9/29/1991; Jack Elowe - 9/30/1997.We hope you will check in and read the newsletters we post each month. Sometimes we have important information included, so this is a great way to keep informed. Thanks everyone! Have a great September, and we'll write again next month.
Benches up,
