Eighteen Summers

“Watch me!”

“Did you see that flip?”

“Take a picture of this trick!”

If you were standing anywhere near the pool on Parents’ Day, that’s what you heard. 

Campers calling up to the deck between cannonballs. The excitement was palpable. The manifestation of proud campers excited to show off to their loved ones every new trick they learned this summer. How much they had accomplished. And most importantly, how much fun they had.

And the parents? Their smiles said it all.

There’s a saying that you only get eighteen summers with your kids. I think about it more than I’d like to admit. Eighteen sounds like plenty - until you start counting, and you notice how the ordinary moments, the long days and scraped knees and backyard campfires, quietly become the memories you’d give anything to relive.

This summer, one of my eighteen, was a special one for me. This year, my daughter joined the Laurel Hill Camp team. If you read Crechelle’s post about our camp staff family tree back in July, you’ve already met her, our newest counselor-in-training. 

So I got one of those eighteen summers at Laurel Hill Camp! Riding in together in the morning, hearing about her group’s day on the drive home, watching her world from the middle of it instead of at the edge.

That’s exactly what Parents’ Day is about.

For the first time in years, Parents’ Day returned to Laurel Hill Camp. 

The idea is simple. It’s not a performance. It’s not a showcase. It’s a few hours inside the world your children have been narrating at the dinner table all summer (if you’re one of the lucky few who gets more than a few words out of them about their day!) - the pools, the fields and games, and the people both young and old. 

And nobody just watched. At Wacky Games, Ms. Katie’s water tag had barely begun before the first parents jumped in. And everyone got soaked!

That’s the part I’ll remember. For a few hours, our families weren’t just hearing stories about camp. They were living them.

Here’s what stayed with me from the pool deck: the campers weren’t just showing off their flips, dives, and tricks. But if you watched closely, you’d see it. The first thing they’d do after landing was turn and look back to find your face. 

They wanted to make sure you saw. 

It wasn’t about the tricks. It was about them wanting you there. To share in the moment.  

Your children are growing up here. They’re becoming more confident. More independent. And more themselves. This is the job you’ve entrusted us with. 

But what they want most of all hasn’t changed since their very first summer, and it won’t change by their eighteenth. They want the people they love to see them do it.

Parents’ Day, at its heart, is just that. A day built around the look back.

For parents, it’s a chance to pause. Put away your busy schedules. Step away from the everyday routine.

And to simply be present with your child.

For me, these are the moments I remember most.

As adults, it is easy to get caught up in how quickly time passes. We look at our children and wonder how they could possibly have gotten so big so quickly.

One minute they are little enough to hold your hand everywhere you go, and the next they are confidently jumping into a pool, making new friends, trying new activities, and proudly showing you everything they have learned.

That is the beauty of camp.

Camp gives children the opportunity to grow, explore, gain independence, build friendships, and discover things about themselves. But Parents’ Day reminds us that camp can also bring families closer together.

For parents, it is a chance to pause.

To put away the busy schedules.

To step away from the everyday routine.

To simply be present with your child.

And sometimes, those are the moments we remember most.

To everyone who came, thank you. Thank you for showing up. For cheering from the deck. For getting soaked without checking your watch first.

We know the importance of being trusted with the people you love most. 

For some of us, this summer was more personal than ever. 

We don’t take a single one of those eighteen summers lightly, and we’re honored you chose to spend this one with us.

Here’s to making the most out of every one we get.

-Diana, Camp Executive Director

P.S. Did you catch a photo on Parents’ Day that captures your camper’s summer. Or a moment you keep telling people about? Reply and share. I read every one, and nothing makes my week like seeing camp through your eyes.