Camp Twin Lakes II

So I'm not sure if I'm going to come up with creative titles or just number posts. Whatevs!

So some history of Camp Twin Lakes, it was started as somewhat of union between a few special needs camps, such as Camp Sunshine (for children with cancer), Camp Kudzu (for children with diabetes), and others that needed a place to host their camps. The original facility was (is) in Rutledge, Georgia. Over the years demand grew and they expanded and took over Camp Will-A-Way, located in the Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, Georgia. Will-A-Way is smaller and not yet as established as Rutledge; in fact, this is only the second year of it's functioning as part of CTL. I was hired as the Music Guy (official title) at Will-A-Way, and part of that is integrating what they do musically at Rutledge into the Will-A-Way scene.

Training is being done jointly between the Rutledge and the Will-A-Way staffs this year. For the past couple of days I've been in Rutledge doing training over there, and tonight/tomorrow they're going to come to Will-A-Way for the rest of training. A few of the counselors at Rutledge have a band called the Ceetles (get it? CTL, Camp Twin Lakes...) and I got a chance to jump in with them. I played djembe (although I was prepared with electric guitar and clarinet), two others played guitar, one played piano, and one sang. Actually the keyboard player and one of the guitars all sang, they had a nice little harmony going on. We played "Love Is," "Party in the USA," and "Burnin' Up" for the other counselors and they loved it. I can't wait to play for the campers at Will-A-Way!

We also got a chance to hear from some of the camper's parents. It was a great chance to hear the struggles of serious illness from the parent's point of view, which is often forgotten. It also reminded us that what we do at camp is not just for the campers, but it also gives the parents a chance to rest. While listening to one parent who's child had a form of Muscular Dystrophy, I was reminded about my own journey with Tourette Syndrome and how much my parents did for me. I remember my mom told me once that she lost weight during the time I was getting diagnosed. Because she didn't eat. Because she was just that worried. I remembered what I felt when she told me that and my eyes started welling up in the middle of our training session! Afterwards, I went up and told the woman that she reminded me of my own mother and I asked to give her a hug since I couldn't hug mom. She consented and it was wonderful.

This summer is going to be incredible, I'll keep you posted the whole way through!