There is Always Next Year.....
Not even 48-hours have passed since the 2026 summer sessions ended, but I find myself already thinking about next year. Actually, we’ve all been thinking about next year for quite a while. Mostly these thoughts have to do with what we can improve, or rather, what little indignation or annoyances we can avoid in the future (running out of air-gun pellets, laundry schedules, communication, managing lost and found, etc.) Many run to larger improvements: “Wouldn’t it be nice if we had that…”, Cheryl remarked to me the other day, which in no small way expressed this hope for the future - things could go better, or areas could be improved in the next year, the kind of thinking that keeps us present in the now. She’s 100% right.
Don’t get me wrong, we had a great Camp season, and there is much to celebrate, but like any organization there is always room for improvement and growth. People often ask why I kept coming back to Mishawaka as a camper. I didn’t have an answer at first, or at least an answer that I thought might satisfy them. A few years ago it dawned on me that I returned because there was always something new to do. Each year provided new challenges, opportunities, activities. There was always room for improvement and growth. The personal kind. As a kid, I often found myself thinking about my next year at Camp long before the current summer was even finished.
The last flight out on Friday was delayed by 7 hours. (Is it still just “delayed” after that amount of time or a whole new flight?) The 11 year-old boy was as patient as a saint as we watched the estimated departure time increase by 30 minute intervals over and over. He did get an awesome tour of the cockpit! I took my cues from him! “Next year”, his parents said, “we’re coming to Family Camp.” To which he replied, “Yay!”. If there were to be delays next year, at least they’d be together, was the thinking. Planning for 2027 already.
The late departure gave me permission to spend the night in Minneapolis and come up the next morning - rather than drive in the dark after a long day. I have often done this. The trip from Minneapolis to Grand Rapids is about 3 and a half hours. Most times I find myself wishing it would go faster. But on these drives north after the closing day, I find myself wishing they were a bit longer. The windshield time provides a perfect opportunity to reflect on the summer just completed, form thank-you letters to staff and parents in my head, and just enjoy the quiet. And yes, think about next year. It’s like nothing else in the summer. A little time and distance can do wonders.
There is a lot that has taken place in the last 10 weeks, and it takes a while to unpack it. This is true for us all, campers, staff, and administration. Time, distance, and reflection allow us to assign importance to what just happened and, thankfully, let the unimportant fall by the wayside. Thank goodness we have a bit of time to do just that.
Tomorrow there will be no bell or bugle. There will be no morning meeting with staff to go over the day. There will be no patter of feet. No abandoned water bottles, no lone flip flops or wet towels in the lost and found pile. There will be no sign-up, no singing, no service committee. I may, however, insist on there being a rest period! But there will be all of that and more next year.