Why the Little Moments Matter: A Director’s Reflection on Camp, Family, and Community

Hello Everyone,

To all our camp families, past, present and future. I hope you enjoyed a Happy Halloween and both the children and you had fun? Gill and I are in a funny little twilight zone where we don't have children young enough to celebrate it and spend the evening reminiscing about bygone years. I look forward to the day we have young children in the family with whom we can dress up and join in with again.

The rehabilitation process from my double knee replacement has been going well and I am pleased with my progress after six weeks. The physio thinks I am well ahead of schedule as I have been walking without crutches since week three and this week I started driving again. Although, I did somehow manage to miss the bottom two stairs this morning, which saw me land in the most undignified and painful way! I see my surgeon on the 17th so hopefully he will confirm that all is well and I can get back to normality as quickly as possibly.

In rather contrasting news, those of you who follow my Linkedin page will know that on Saturday 25th October, I had the privilege of holding my dearly beloved brother in law’s hand as he passed away. My sister is thirteen year’s older than me and George five older than her so I’ve never known life without him in it. He was the brother I never had. He was my hero. I've spent this week working on all the funeral arrangements etc. I will be writing and reading his eulogy - what a fabulous privilege to have the opportunity to sum up this wonderful man’s life.So I urge you all, as go about your daily business, please remember that time and people are the most precious commodities because once they’re gone, you are not getting them back. Cherish them both and make the most of them both.

In between these challenges that life has thrown at us, Gill, Majo, Ellie, Kelly & myself have continued to work as hard as ever to plan for Opening Day 26. There are lots of really exciting developments, which I will let Gill tell you all about in her monthly notes next week. I am hugely excited about our upcoming reunions in New York & Boston as they are always one of the highlights of my year. I know Thanksgiving is coming up, then Christmas for those who celebrate, so it is a busy time of the year but I hope many of you can try and come along, say hi and keep our famous Waukeela pep and spirit alive.

Whilst I feel extremely sad at the moment, I know life has so many treasured moments ahead for me to look forward to and enjoy - many of which will occur at Waukeela. If there is a message in here somewhere for you and your children, it is a saying that I love to use: 'Cherish the little moments because one day you will realise that they were the big things.'

Sending you all lots of love

For the love of camp.

Graham & Gill