Accomplishment, Pride, Love – 2nd Session Kadima & B’Yachad

Yes, it does take a village.

Today, for a variety of reasons, I had the unique opportunity to be a different kind of villager. With some day-off scheduling and a few other moving pieces, the waterfront needed a boat driver, so I got to spend a couple of Chugim driving ski boats.

Aside from it being an absolutely beautiful day on the water and getting some quality one-on-one time with campers, what I really got to witness today was accomplishment, gratitude, and pride.

I think I pulled nine skiers today. Two of them got up for the very first time after a lot of determination and some wonderfully positive prodding from their friends. I couldn’t help but think, this is what it’s all about. Being here with your friends. Your lifeguard is proudly wearing a Jewish Star or a Chai around their neck. These counselors are the cool older kids who probably seem like full-grown adults to our campers, and they’re cheering every attempt and personifying everything we are trying to teach your camper.

Nobody backed out because their foot kind of hurt or because they just weren’t feeling it today. They wanted to get in the water. They wanted to try.

But the real treat wasn’t watching someone stand up on skis. It was watching the smiles afterward. It’s that smile on their face when the boat pulls up next to them. That smile may be a smile pride in trying, or succeeding, or even just the fun of bouncing around in the water. I see so much more in that smile.

The real thanks, the real appreciation, the genuine gratitude, the pure joy of childhood, it all comes through loud and clear on a camper’s face after they accomplish something they didn’t know they could do.

That smile says, Thanks for sending me to camp. Thanks for giving me this opportunity. (Something they may not vocalize for many years, but it’s there, I promise.)

That look is pride. Pride in a new accomplishment, pride in solving conflicts on their own, pride in making new friends, pride in discovering a part of themselves they didn’t know was there, and, of course, pride in being Jewish! It’s that quiet little voice inside beginning to say, I’m proud of me.

And finally, it’s a look of love. A love for this place they call their home away from home. A love for the community that holds them so tightly while giving them the freedom to grow. And maybe most importantly, a love that comes from a kid beginning to understand who they are.

That’s what I saw on those nine faces today.

And the best part? There are about 380 more running around this place with that very same look.

Thank you for sending your kid to Herzl Camp! 

All is well. Safely rest.

,לילה טוב

Tommy