Camp, by its nature, is spending lots of time outside. We design our camps and camp programs to maximize the beautiful settings we are blessed with. We believe being in the out-of-doors provides many physical, emotional and spiritual benefits to kids.
That’s why, unless the weather is dangerous, we do camp in the wind, rain or shine. We embrace all kinds of weather and believe it’s a gift from God. We just need to dressed appropriately for it and maybe adjust our perspectives.
I love our staff’s attitudes and actions when others think the weather is less than ideal. They have fun, assure that campers have fun, and turn rain, cold or heat into something exciting.
They lead their campers in dancing and singing in the rain.
On cold Michigan mornings they turn blobbing into something manly called “polar bear” blobbing.
They take the heat and humidity of southern Indiana and use it as a chance to ceremoniously drink water together.
Weather is an opportunity to create a shared experience, not something that get’s in the way of it.
So when it rained a bit yesterday on opening day in Michigan, our team enthusiastically embraced it. So much so that arriving parents and campers were caught up in the “great weather” we were having.
When you think about this approach to weather it applies to other things in life. It’s not always our circumstances that are bad it’s our attitude and actions towards them. We need to, instead, take those circumstances and turn them into an opportunity to “sing and dance in the rain.”
And as we say at SpringHill “there is no bad weather just bad clothing!”
