Everything Summer Blog

Thought Leaders and Camp

This weekend we saw Iron Lady, in time to catch Meryl Streep pre-Oscars (always enjoy seeing nominees before the awards). The movie was full of life lessons and history, with Meryl conveying the character of Margaret Thatcher incredibly (she became her).

What was most memorable was a quote she mentioned, that really was from based on a Gandhi quote:

Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.

This all makes me think of camp, and the impact it has on campers and staff. When kids are away from home, bonding with others away from technology, they focus, I believe, on life choices and people. They take stock more of their actions and impact on others. And good actions become habits and values they bring home with them.

Thatcher also said: "Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the high road to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction." And isn't camp about experiencing pride in all that you do, which leads to fulfillment and stronger self esteem?

Back-to-School and Bullying

It's a new school year. With new shoes, a new book bag and the latest in technology, kids are back to bullying. They've left the safe haven of summer camp, where there is zero tolerance for bullying, to face its evil presence in school and on-line.

I took a sneak peek at CBS News/48 Hours Special Presentation, Bullying: Words Can Kill, to be aired, Friday, September 16, 8PM ET/PT. 1 in 4 children are bullied daily, 160,000 kids stay home every day because they are afraid of being bullied. And, sadly,too many lives are taken over this horrendous act.

The special highlights key signs that parents should be aware of, that may indicate their child is being bullied; in essence, sharp changes in behavior - such as best friends parting suddenly, a former Facebook daily user who refuses to go on-line, eating and sleeping patterns that are abnormal. Parents need to step in and discuss these changes; bringing them to the attention of professionals and their school.

Top tips include:

• Be your child's advocate
• Monitor on-line activities
• What to do if your child is bullied
• And could your child be a bully

It would be much better for children if schools could adapt some of the strategies and training that summer camps invest heavily in each summer, and year-round. An effective consequence for campers is being told to leave camp for behaviors that are not allowed - parents have to escort them home and money is not refunded. And since camps do this every summer, kids know camps walk the talk. I actually witnessed such an exit this summer when I was re-visiting a camp. The director was quick to point out to me the group dynamics and strategies they put in place to protect their campers. Such post-exit guidance meetings for campers impacted by the bullier and those who might think the bullier should have stayed, prove effective management tools for the camp staff and campers. Reinforcing what a positive community stands for (and does not).

Please share this post so others watch this important presentation and get involved to stop bullying in its tracks.

 

Thank You!

Okay, I am one of those people who ends most sentences with 'thank you.' It's really automatic. I thought I'd ask you, do you say 'thank you' enough (especially this time of year)?

This recent USA Today article, Final Word: Make a note to be grateful every day, made me stop to think about all the things and people I am grateful for. I am not being sappy; just honest. I guess I have reached the point in my life that I wake up each day thankful for the health and happiness of my family, friends and colleagues. I feel so fortunate to have daily purpose; and especially grateful I can make a difference in people's lives.

There used to be a movie preview commercial that said something along the lines of people won't remember how big your house was or how fancy your cars were.....And this was before our latest recession. Boy were they right. I don't take anything for granted; nor do I really want for anything. It's not that I have so many worldly possessions; it's that I am rich in what matters - health, family, marriage, children, wonderful friends. And experiences.

Camp is one of those experiences, personally and professionally. My husband and I both had different and positive childhood camp experiences, and we talk about them often. And our kids had even better camp and summer experiences than we did (of course).  We are both so grateful to our parents for gifting us these opportunities, and talk to our kids about this. They get it too.

So as a final request for 2010, I ask that you think about gratitude and check off of your 2010 bucket list saying thank you as often as you can to as many people as possible. It's contagious, and you will be thankful you did!

Summer Gadget Fun

To celebrate the launch of the latest iphone 4 today, I thought I'd share some cool gadgets to capture summer fun. Remember, if your kids are going to camp, check the electronics policies. Almost none allow any mechanisms that have video capability; and do not take the risk of something valuable getting lost. But bring those nifty flip-cam and smart phones to say good bye and attend visiting day. You want those memories documented!

The New York Times did a nice article recently on some gadgets. Here are my picks:

• Compact travel buddy cameras that fit in a pocket or small purse. Some have a GPS function that lets you plot where the photo was shot (almost foursquare-like??). It also shoots high definition video.
• Outdoors, underwater cameras. Good choice for adventures and fits in a pocket. Take it on a trail, bike ride, the pool or even snorkeling (high definition video lets you remember what you really saw, with your expressions). And dropping it does not mean it will break.
• budget-minded, and for the less sophisticated - kids and teens (and less tech-oriented parents, like me). Apparently its easy features make it almost foolproof for novices (think I'll seriously look into this one).

Other good travel gadget sources and ideas include walkabouttravelgear.com for tech travel supplies, skype for calling, yelp for reviews, tripit for organizing itineraries, e-readers for the beach. But one of the best leisure travel all-in-one gadgets is the ipad if you can spring for it (it gets my husband's approval!).