Seinfeld-ish

I've been thinking about our time at camp. The good. The bad. The ugly. As life often does, it reminded me of an episode of Seinfeld. In one episode, Elaine interacts with new friends from Bizarro World. "Bizarro" means her new friends act the exact opposite of her normal friends (Jerry, George and Kramer). When her normal friends meet her new friends, it's awkward and revealing. The first 2 weeks at ERBC were like Bizarro Camp. I met the maintenance guy and compared him to Reed. I met the cook and compared her to Juanita. I met the program guy and compared him to me. But the program guy isn't me; the camp isn't the same; and time has moved along for all of us. It was awkward and revealing. The second 2 weeks started to bring healing. Building relationships with the current counselors and staff allowed them to not have to be someone I imagined I used to know. Even as I met former staff and friends from the Juneau area, I was reminded that, thankfully, we've all grown and matured a bit. In 2001, we had intended to leave at the end of summer camp. Circumstances dictated we leave mid-July. Sally insightfully noted that in returning to camp for a month, we got to finish the 8 years that we had left uncompleted. And, could leave this time on our terms. Not so "bizarro" after all.