Reminisce the Summer
Because we have, with Morgan, visited TLC over the past few summers, she has not only heard but seen our history and the great things that are in store for her. For example, as we drove past Phoenicia, we told her about how we would always have a “knot” of excitement in our stomach when the bus made the right turn off of Route 28. We took her to the Mess Hall (sorry – that’s what we will always call it) and the Rec Hall to show her our Color War (sorry again – we are old school) plaques and murals and told her all about fake-outs, break-outs, Sing and the fun of those four days at the end of the summer. She has played on the boys’ basketball courts and been thrilled (okay – probably uninterested) by the stories of her Dad’s past (and exaggerated) glories!
She has also, more importantly, witnessed first hand how strong and long-lasting a camp friendship can be. Not only are some of our closest friends TLCers who we met in camp thirty or so years ago, but Morgan has seen on Visiting Days her parents share, with old camp friends, hugs, kisses and smiles that do not seem to end. She has seen what it is to be part of the Timber Lake Family and the love that we have for those that we have shared our summers with, and we cannot wait for her to join that family.
As we get Morgan ready for camp, floods of great memories always come back and we each catch ourselves momentarily day-dreaming of events decades old but as vivid as if they occurred yesterday. When Morgan looks at the TLC clock that was sent to her and says, before she goes to sleep, how she cannot wait until there are zero days and hours remaining, we smile, knowing exactly how she feels and, if truth be told, wishing we could turn back our own clocks and go with her. When Morgan asks us whether we will miss her, we tell her yes but also tell her that in some ways it will be as if we are at TLC with her because she will be walking the same road up to eat, singing the same TLC alma mata and “Friends,” playing on the same fields and courts, swimming in the same pools and boating in the same lakes as her Mom and Dad did many years ago.
So, when we put Morgan on the camp bus in June, lessening the inevitable sadness that we will have in being “really” apart from our little girl for the first time will be our joy in knowing that because of the beauty of TLC, the variety of programs and activities provided and the values that are emphasized by Jay and Mindy, Morgan will thrive and start her journey towards making friends and memories that will last a lifetime, as it was and has been for us. There is no doubt in our minds that the knot of excitement that was in our stomachs when we were kids, anticipating what was just minutes away at the top of Timber Lake Road, will again be in our stomachs when we say good-bye to Morgan, knowing that in just a few hours she will begin to experience for herself what it is like to spend a summer at Timber Lake. We also know that this wonderful “Timber Lake Family” will nurture and protect her, as it did us, and she will return to us in August forever changed for the better.
– Ken & Darelene Novikoff
