How Lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard
“How Lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard” – Winnie the Pooh
By Brian Croft
What better way to say my goodbye than referencing a loveable bear; a concept well understood by the Ondessonk family. To put into words the thoughts, feelings, and emotions a person goes through when leaving Camp is nearly impossible; this feat would require a newsletter in itself. In my case, I am not only saying goodbye to a job, but also to a community of people that I feel lucky enough to now refer to as family. Also, I lose my house, so that makes it a little harder to stomach…
In the “normal” world, a person finds a job and clocks in for his or her 8 hours of daily mandatory service. He or she comes home to lives filled with things completely unrelated to their work. They even have these things called weekends, where they just don’t show up to work at all… What’s that all about? I have friends from the “outside” and I can’t help but feel sorry for them (albeit sometimes jealous…) Camp requires so much more from its employees, but it also rewards each and every one of us in ways even we don’t understand at the time.
Camp has become a home for my wife and me. We’ve celebrated three graduations, acquired our first washer and dryer together, and enjoyed several date nights that ended with ice cream from the trading post. Though we are moving on, camp will stay here; a testament to the thousands of people that have come before. Camp is more than place; it’s a collection of people’s hearts and love freely given knowing that the sacrifices they made have a life altering effect on each and everyone who crosses under camp’s gates. It has been my privilege to act as one of camp’s caretakers and I have no doubt that Camp will continue to grow under the current staff at camp.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with so many incredible people whose devotion to the power of camp is truly inspiring. To all of you, I thank you for your guidance and friendship. I am a better person having known all of you. To say goodbye would be wrong, as I plan on staying a part of camp for a long time. I look forward to dropping off my children here one day, enjoying conversations about the good old days during Friend’s Weekend, and volunteering summer after summer. For now, there is no goodbye, only until we meet again.