camp longhorn alumni weekend

Nothing has changed, and yet nearly everything has. The old screened in cabins are the same, with a coat of fresh paint on some. The music flows from the same speakers blanketing, all of camp in a familiar song. The lake is in the exact same spot as it was when we were counselors four summers ago, and the four summers before that. Nothing has changed, and yet nearly everything has.

For starters, one of us is dating a yell leader, and brought him along for alumni weekend. Two of us are madly in love and married: to each other! A few of us were rowdier than we had ever even thought about being during our actual camp days. We have jobs (or in my case, applications floating about) and rent (or in my case, not currently) and bills and responsibilities and schedules to juggle. Nothing has changed, and yet nearly everything has.

Camp Longhorn is timeless. One of its best features is that campers, counselors, and alumni alike are all able to let nearly 365 days pass, or more, and come back to right where they left off. I wonder if Pat & Tex Robertson knew what they were doing in 1939: creating for thousands and thousands what would be some of their best memories, best friendships, and best lessons learned. I have talked about my experience at CLH in nearly every job interview. I have thought about CLH and the values to which camp founders are devoted, and looked at my own life in comparison. I have internalized that it is okay to go without air conditioning or make up or cell phones for a while. I have been reminded that people matter more than anything else on the planet.

Camp Longhorn is our safe place. Some of the activities and cabin names look unfamiliar, but as we bounced on the blob and raced down the water socks (slides), it felt as though no time had passed. Our muscles and knees told us differently the next day, but while we were there, how great to have 24 hours of the good life.

We have lost loved ones and been through pain. We have moved to DC and Chicago and back. We have danced by the light of the moon, made some really great decisions, and some really silly ones, too. We have grown up. We have walked by faith. And we have spent some quality time together, back at one of the greatest places on earth. As we loaded our car for the weekend & put ice in our cooler, I found myself offering a prayer of thanks. I’m not sure how I found these friends, nor what I would do without them. I just know that for them I will forever be thankful.

It was the same, nine years ago, our last year as campers. I was not sure what was in store next, I simply knew I would come back to be a counselor for as many years as possible, and hope that Renza, and Paige, and Peter, and Jennie, and Haley, and my brother, and Tres, and others would be there along with me. And later, we met the other “crob,” the real one, and I held on to her as tight as I could. I did not know how I had found such wonderful friends, nor what I would do without them. You see, not much has changed. And yet, almost everything has.