These days it is very easy to get caught up in the latest trends, fashions, the up-to-date gizmos and gadgets. People are often finding themselves getting something, and a month or so later, being bored with it and wanting something newer and better. We get wrapped up in wanting more and more without realizing that what we have is more than plenty. Often times, we forget how fortunate we truly are and forget how much worse life can be.
Last week, I had the pleasure of working at a camp called The Painted Turtle. This camp is one of many camps that is a part of the Serious Fun Network, which gives children with various chronic illnesses and physical disabilities the opportunity to have a summer camp experience. It is an experience filled with dancing, eating with no hands, successfully completing a ropes course, fishing, boating, and several other camp-oriented activities. While the primary campers attend a majority of the summer sessions, this past week, I was able to hangout with their siblings and show them the joys of camp that their loved ones get to be a part of.
While I was working at this camp, I was able to detach myself from the outside world. To some people, going without their phones or technology is something that they never want to do. I get it, in today's day and age, technology runs our existence. It’s how we get our news, how we follow our favorite celebrities, or simply keep in contact with our best friends and relatives. As much as I love to enjoy that, it was great to let go of technology and focus on something bigger than what I was used to.
For five straight days, it was all about these kids. We woke up when they did and did not go to sleep until the last kid put their head on their bed. Some may think, oh, they do not have chronic illnesses, why does this matter? Although this is partially true, they live through their childhoods differently than most of us could ever think of. They too live through doctor visits, hardships of illnesses, and many more trifles when dealing with a sibling that is chronically ill. It was truly eye-opening to see how much these kids cherished everything that was given to them throughout the week at camp. By the time their parents had to come pick them up, my cabin of ten-year-old boys were as close as could be. Some of their final words were, “I will always remember my counselors, my cabin mates, and Russermany.” Russermany was the country we made up for the kids, and they loved it. Their geography teachers will soon hate us, but it was for the kids.
The moral of the story is that despite the chaos these kids deal with on a day-to-day basis, they taught me a lesson more than I taught them one. Life is going to throw a lot of curveballs at us and sometimes there is nothing we can do about it. More people, including myself, need to live in the now while being gracious of what we have instead of stressing the small things that in reality don’t really matter. Things could always be worse, so love what you have and utilize it because what these kids taught me is that it all can be taken away in the blink of an eye.
Check out how to get involved with the Serious Fun Network by clicking the link provided.
