COVID, The Cabin & Camp Sim…..

Our house is like a summer cabin. It’s cute but not finished. My husband calls it a “work in progress”. I call that “marriage”. The house needs small things like trim and a wee bit of siding but somehow anything and everything has a higher priority than trim and siding.

The house sits on two acres and is “nestled” in the trees. That sounds idyllic and it is, until you get the faint whiff of the pigs…. We started the house with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and living “area”. For a family of 5, it was cozy. Owen slept in the hallway. When we entertained, our guests had to bring a jacket because the only place to sit was outside on the porch. This was tricky in the winter. In the summer, we pretended to be trendy with “el fresco” dining.

Over the years, we have continued to renovate. Everyone now has their own bedroom, there is a large living room with a lovely vaulted ceiling and another big outdoor porch area that begs for rich conversation over steaming mugs of tea or glasses of chilled white wine. The house also begs for a second bathroom. However, all boys and men seem to delight in the freedom of the great outdoors so somehow we manage.

We are definitely not fancy. Our home is a collection of comfortable things; often second hand things. I love the worn leather couches and for some weird reason, I love the olive green loveseats with their cloth texture and 70’s design that don’t match anything else in the house. I adore the red chairs on the deck where I have my morning coffee and can listen to the rain on the tin roof. Our house wears like a favourite pair of worn jeans; it’s comfortable, casual and feels like a like a cabin all year round.

Mostly that is great but since COVID19, the cabin has morphed into summer camp and I am the new camp counsellor. The “campers” for this season include our eldest son Aiden (23), daughter Megan (21), youngest son Owen (14), our German student (16) and of course my husband Wayne who teaches the outdoor survival course. With all these people, you can see why I would be keen on a second bathroom.

The day starts exactly like camp would. Everyone gathers for breakfast and then they head off for morning activities leaving the kitchen help to do the dishes and tidy up. That’s me. “Camp Counsellor” is a wide descriptive. I also get to be the custodian and the laundry attendant. The camp seems to be run as a non-profit with volunteer “staff”.

As Camp Counsellor, I make sure I offer plenty of activity choices. Some examples are yard work, painting, scrubbing walls, sanding decks or organizing the sport shed. Afternoon “rest time” is the most popular activity. This is perplexing because it’s not something I offer as a camp activity and yet, every afternoon, people are happily lounging in chairs, hammocks or on the couches. They are reading or streaming or napping. I know this because I have to ask them to move while I sweep and mop around them. Time for camp chores.

I adore my daughter for all her Type A characteristics. She specializes in labelling, spreadsheets and organizational flow charts. Thanks to her, we now have a daily job chart where everyone is assigned specific tasks and each task has very clear directions and expectations. Cleaning the bathroom is NOT just taking a look and seeing that there is enough toilet paper. She just became the Camp Director.

Evenings are spent around the dining room table. The conversations flow and are quite animated. Sometimes we have to invoke camp rules like “play nice” and “don’t call each other names” but overall, it’s engaging. It’s also relaxing since the chore list was invoked and I don’t have to do the after dinner clean up.

Quarantine with the family has had its moments of “OMG! I HATE THIS CAMP, GET ME OUT OF HERE” but as the days flowed into weeks, I found joy in the rhythm. Morning breakfast includes morning visits with each of the kids. Megan and Aiden help Owen with his homework; they all head out biking and since Camp Sim doesn’t ban alcohol, happy hour is another popular social activity.

Camp life has allowed us to escape to a place in time that we never thought we would experience again. Wayne and I thought we might have outgrown camp. After all, Aiden and Megan had left home. They had gone onto university and had started creating their own pathways and were stretching towards their life milestones. Pre COVID, our family home was just the touchpoint that was used to bring people back together for Thanksgiving and Christmas. These holidays were lovely but the time was fast and fleeting. These days, we have nothing but time.

At Camp Sim, we laugh, we giggle and yes, we argue but we also make up. Wayne and I get to “know” our adult children in ways that we never imagined. Owen has new relationships with his siblings that previously didn’t exist. They have developed connections amongst themselves that are the foundation for a lifetime relationship and it’s beautiful to watch. I’m not so keen when they gang up on me as Camp Counsellor but I do cherish that they are the best cabin team of the summer.

There are many awful consequences to COVID19. At night, I admit to falling into a cold sweat (different than hot flashes) over finances, the economy and all the other “what ifs” but if I stay focused on our sense of summer camp, I am transported into a magical place for which I am intently grateful. Time has been suspended long enough that I can embrace the whole family in one hug. Life has paused. I can swim in the clouds and experience whole hearted being with my all my kids, all at once.

This week, the gears of our world are slowly churning and grinding to restart. Social circles can be expanded, businesses can cautiously turn on the lights and students will resume school in part time blocks. It’s not going to be the same; it’s going to be different. I hope the “difference” will include the good bits of what we have all just shared. I hope that we don’t “rush” back to a life that kept us too busy from connecting on meaningful levels. I hope that we continue to grow gardens, shop local and stay in touch. I hope that “slowing down” is viewed as a valuable part of being whole and healthy and that the “rush” and the “stress” of being “busy” is a pandemic to avoid.

It’s been a funny journey. The shock and awe that first took me by storm has morphed into gratitude for Camp Sim. I like this bubble but I know it can’t last. I know the bus will come and take the kids back to their lives. We will hug and say goodbye; it’s part of the camp experience but for right now, I just wish camp could last just a little bit longer.

With love,

Shelley