Family Man™: Camp Togetherness

By Gregory Keer


 






At the beginning of kindergarten, my son Benjamin decorated a giant folder for his weekly schoolwork. When he brought it home, we deciphered a stick figure on a mountaintop, wearing what looked like a deployed parachute. Was it a scene from a Spy Kids flick or a G.I. Joe I-Can-Read book?



“It’s a picture of Mommy jumping off the cliff at family camp,” Benjamin proudly explained.



Wendy and I burst out laughing. Yes, we explained that when Mommy went paragliding (hang-gliding with a parachute), she was clipped to an instructor with lots of safety equipment. And, yes, we can’t wait to return to family camp.


Two years ago, we attended our first session at a mountain facility run by the university my wife and I attended. Going in, I was skeptical. I am not a camper. Even the word “rustic” makes my eyes itch and my dreams fill with marauding bears.



But I was pleasantly surprised. The accommodations were civilized mini-condos (though without air conditioning, phones or TVs) and the meals were sophisticated. I also found the grounds breathtaking, the staff amazing (made up largely of college students) and the activities diverse enough to rival a luxury cruise.


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