The bell rang this morning at 7:15am, signifying the start of a full first day of camp for our 2 and 3 week villages. Before flag raising, the pioneer and trailblazers filled into the Bahn to the alluring sounds of MC Hammer and Wham!, for an early morning Jazzercise session. This was an introduction to Go Getters, which is when campers choose an activity to participate in before breakfast. At some point in between the sprinkler and shopping cart dance moves, it dawned on me that there is no such thing as an average Merrowvista morning. Simultaneous to our morning workout class, our 4 week trailblazer villages, Sentinel and Little Haystack, took down their tents for the last time on their canoe trips. The four-trails village of Nesuntabunt, that has been hiking in the Saddlebacks for 5 days, woke up to the promise of meeting a camp van for their resupply. As a community, we truly do seize what the mornings have to offer us!

That being said, something that I have always loved about being at Merrowvista is the potential to start each day a new. Both in and out of camp, the importance of having a good morning is recognized and shared. It is tangible when campers soak in the sunshine in silent reflection and on trail when they work together to get out of a campsite early. It makes me wonder how much we could all achieve outside of Merrowvista, if we woke up just a little earlier, to spend time doing the things that make us happy and grow.

I’m looking forward to being sparked by the energy of our 2 and 3 week villages, especially in the morning hours. Session B is in full swing!

~Jazzercise enthusiast