Last Year at Pine Cove

At camp, while kids were in their programming with their counselors, parents had some free time. Oftentimes, we would find ourselves on a cabin porch just talking with other parents. These spontaneous porch conversations were a highlight of the week every year. We didn't schedule them or need a notification to remind us, they just happened as we were unplugged from work, phones, and other tasks that would normally steal our time if at home. In 2021, I remember one porch talk about how we only had 3 more years of Pine Cove and I already felt sad about it. Interestingly by the time we entered camp for the last time in 2024, I had gone through much harder things to be sad about that I wasn’t sad about camp at all. 

I thought I would shed more tears with this goodbye, and sink into a depressed, "Now what?" But surprisingly I feel more joy and gratitude than any sadness.

One of the best decisions we made the last 3 years we went to camp was to invite our adult kids to join for at least part of the week. Our oldest son was working at camp already and the other kids that could make it, joined in the fun when they could - we included Wesley's soon-to-be fiance in 2023. She didn't know she rode in the same vehicle as her engagement ring on the way to camp! 

Our last year at camp, our two high schoolers were not able to be there. That was something we never anticipated and the things that prevented them from being at camp were the source of my deepest pain. Instead of canceling our registration, we decided to go even if it was just the two of us. We wanted to enjoy it one last time and say goodbye to friends and counselors we had grown up with the past 13 years.

Have I mentioned that getting to know the counselors was one of my favorite parts of camp? Many counselors would work at Pine Cove several summers while in college, so we would get to hear updates about their lives, relationships, and dreams when we reconnected each summer. We have had the opportunity to welcome some of these college students for dinner or an overnight stay, or even an internship with our company.

My favorite Pine Cove Counselor was our son, "Sledge of Allegiance." 

From our first year at Pine Cove, Wesley set his sights on becoming a Pine Cove counselor. Right after he graduated high school, he worked at camp as a Counselor in Training (CIT), and he went back to camp every summer until he graduated college. Sledge was a leader before he was on the leadership team. The last summer before he graduated college, he felt the pressure to do an internship instead of working at Pine Cove. He consulted with several people before making his decision and asked what we thought. We told him he has the rest of his life to work a real job. The families he served 10 weeks each summer would provide him more than enough recommendations as they witnessed his work ethic, passion and charisma. He had no problem securing a job after graduation, and he didn't even have to rely on his Pine Cove network.

He's the funniest accountant I know

Last time at Pine Cove 

2024 - drive to Pine Cove never looked like this before

Our 24-year-old daughter, Marian, came for the whole week. We had Katerin, Wes and his wife, Sarah, for part of the week too. Experiencing camp with our adult kids didn't take away the grief of missing our two youngest, but it was comforting to do family favorites again together -- Sundaes on Sunday, Banana boating, Sunset Cruise, Adult Pool Party, Banquet Night, games in the Summit, Breakfast Trail Ride, Water Aerobics, Impact Dance, and Family Devo. If you go to Pine Cove and have adult kids, I highly recommend inviting them back before your last time at camp!

Banana Boating

The Final Act

Favorite Holiday

Impact Dance

Breakfast Trailride

Water Aerobics

Games in the Summit

       

What was so fun about having our adult kids come back was that they appreciated our time together more and didn’t have the attitudes they once had as teenagers. We got to do all the fun things without the attitude! Speaking of attitude, one of the most awkward times at camp was that first year during Rite Night. 

Rite Night

Pine Cove has an evening where they set aside time for parents and their teens to connect. It alternates every three years between dad with daughters and mom with sons, mom with daughters and dad with sons, and then both parents with all the teens. Our first year, Rite Night was with dad and daughters so Jeremy had all three teenage girls for the activity. And they were not having it…well at least not our Colombian daughters. Part of their time together was a Dad and Daughter Dance. Marian and Katerin were like, “No.” You didn’t have to speak Spanish to understand that! Meanwhile, Emily was eating it up. She was 14 and had just experienced the past 10 months of sharing mom and dad with her new siblings and not getting as much attention that she was accustomed to. She took her dance with dad and Katerin’s and Marian’s dance too. They were happy to pass!

2016 went much better than 2013

Although we didn't participate in Rite Night our last year at camp, Marian and Katerin had lots of time with just mom and dad. No awkwardness. No attitude. Just enjoying our time and creating new memories. One thing I am learning as my kids are all young adults is that if we messed up or missed opportunities before they turned 18 and were living at home, it's not too late to offer connection and build better relationships now. We have the rest of our lives to work on attachment - it isn't constrained to only the first 18 years of their lives. 

 

I don’t know of any other place that welcomes you with jumping and cheering like opening day at Pine Cove. Maybe when the kids were little and you came home from work to excited little toddlers greeting you at the door could be a close second. The difference is that when the jumping stops, the Pine Cove counselors serve you all week and toddlers don’t.  Pine Cove Family Camp will always be one of my favorite places in the world and I will miss it. 

I got to take a break from many of my mom roles while at camp - meal planner, cook, activities director, referee - the load these roles brought was shared with other counselors pouring into my kids and me. I felt cared for. I felt loved. I got a little rest from carrying it alone. A lot of years, camp felt like a safe landing place, and sometimes it felt like we glided into the week with both wings on fire. The nourishment I received at camp helped sustain me the other 51 weeks of the year.

Family Devo 2017

I don’t think we would have ever gone if it had not been gifted to us and to that family, I am forever grateful. Pine Cove was not just a highlight of our summer, but a place where our family could connect and enjoy each other. It helped shape our family time. It showed my kids what is most important - we belong to a God who is loving, kind, good, and so much fun.

2016