“Alright, so I just went over some of the guidelines here. Pretty basic stuff, show respect, don’t be a sore loser, be polite towards our staff. I’m sure you all remember how to use your manners.” I pause for a second. “We also have some more serious rules. ‘No possession of drugs or alcohol. Any prescriptions should be checked in with your cabin counselor’. For you guys, that’s me. ‘No inappropriate touch or language.’”

“I know this can be tough to talk about, but this is important, okay? If any of you feel uncomfortable with someone else’s behavior, don’t be afraid to tell an adult. Even if... especially if, it’s an adult that made you feel that way. I want this to be a great summer for you.”

I pause again, gauging their reactions. A few of them nod, and I find myself nodding back, flashing a smile.

“Alright, we can go over the fun stuff! Now, we’re gonna have to be waking up early. I know, you kids probably want to sleep in, but we want to fit as much fun as possible into these summer days. Let’s check out our schedules on the next page!”

I turn the page, and the campers copy me.

“Wake up is at six o’clock on weekdays, and seven o’clock on weekends. We have an hour to wake up and get ready, and then we’ll head to breakfast. On weekdays, we’ll sit together as a cabin in the cafeteria, but on weekends you can sit wherever you want, within the eating areas. We’ll usually have some other stuff happening, too, depending on the day.”

“Let’s go over weekday stuff. After breakfast, you have a few options for morning exercise, which are listed in your book. There’s a group that goes for a hike, and a group that jogs around camp. We have swim lessons available on Mondays and Wednesdays, as well as a workout group that meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Or, you can check out the basketball court. Hikes and classes usually last an hour, but only half an hour of exercise is required.”

“When you’re done, you should return to the cabin, and we’ll prepare for our next activities. At 9, we have a service project on Mondays and Wednesdays, or Arts and Crafts on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This is different for every cabin, though. We rotate. Fridays are the best, because we have camp-wide games, so you can hang out with friends from other cabins!”

“At 10, it’s free time, but make sure you stick with a buddy! You can go to the lake, the archery range, the basketball court, the pool, the craft tent, walk around the camp grounds, or just find a nice bench. There are also some snacks available, but remember not to swim for a half hour after you eat. Also, this is not the time to hang out in cabins. You can pop in if you forgot something, or if you need to use the bathroom, but try not to stay too long.”

“At 2pm, we’ll all head back to the cabin for some indoor time, to make sure you aren’t out in the sun too long. We don’t want anyone getting heat stroke! It gets really hot. We’ll hang out, play some games, maybe take a nap. We’ll also need to tidy up, because cabin check is at 4, and whoever has the cleanest cabin gets to be first in line for dinner at 5.”

“After dinner, we’ll have closing exercises, usually announcements and camp songs, and then we have evening activities, which are different every day. My favorite is star gazing, but there are lots of others, and it just depends on the night. Light out is at 9 o’ clock on weekdays, and 10 on Friday and Saturday.”

“Speaking of which, weekend schedules are a bit different. On those days, I’ll give you guys our specific cabin schedule. Saturdays are usually community service, cleaning, games, and sometimes a day trip! On Sundays, some campers will be attending nearby churches, but it’s mostly just a free day. Some other cabins have campers with other days set aside to honor their religious beliefs, but none of you have mentioned needing free time on other days. If that changes, you can talk to me about it.”

The kids are quiet. I guess I was probably like that when I came to camp the first year. That was a while ago. I don’t remember what got me to warm up, but you can’t get to know people without talking, and I’m doing most of that right now.

“You kids are probably tired from all your traveling, but lucky for you, we don’t do much the first day. So if you wanna just unpack and get to know each other, that’ll be just fine! I actually need to help with some preparations, so I’m gonna trust you kids alone.” I stand up, picking up my backpack. They need some space to be kids. “We wanna give you freedom to make friendships without some lame adults here, but remember the guidelines!”

“And make sure to keep it down!” I joke. Everyone is still quiet. I get it, no one wants to be shoved together. Even as an adult, people try to make friends for me, and it doesn’t work. But kids make friends easily if there’s a reason to. Just gotta find that reason.