Staff Training 2015

Hello everyone!! Did you miss me?

As a lot of you know, I have spent the last eight summers at a wonderful place called Camp Bishopswood, and part of being at camp means that I have very limited time to do much else than be really immersed in camp, so unfortunately writing blog posts has been one of the things to fall through the cracks.  Here at camp, we have spent the last couple of weeks on "magic time," which means that we set our camp clocks a half hour ahead so that we can maximize our time with daylight in the evenings. Unfortunately for most, it also means we are waking up a half hour before the "real world" people do.  On weekends, we roll the clocks back, so long story short, my body is stuck on "magic time" and I am up and ready to go!  While there are many things that I want to write about when I finish camp, I can't help but put down a few words about this summer and the things that have been happening here at camp!

Winter Camp

Unlike many of my seasons at Camp, this one started long before the campers were bustling around here. Mike, our director invited a group of the leadership staff up to the Gate House in early February for "winter camp."  We had a great time catching up and getting the ball rolling, brainstorming about things that we would do this summer to keep things fresh and fun for the campers.  As part of the weekend, we took a hike down to center camp to check it out.  This turned out to be way more work than any of us thought it would be!  A walk that takes about 8 minutes in the summer took at least 25, as we trudged through waist-deep snow towards camp.  When we finally got down there, it was as beautiful as always, but SOO snowy (as illustrated in the photo on the left.)  As we talked about camp, we agreed that the throughout the past couple of summers we have definitely made steps in the right direction as far as programming is concerned, and that we didn't want to make any wholesale changes to our scheduling.  We began to brainstorm fresh new ideas for All Camp Activities and one that stuck (and I'm happy that it did) was to have our first annual Color Wars (more on that later).

I will admit that in past years after the camp season ends, my attention has often turned quickly towards other things (college, friends, work, etc.), which makes it difficult to stay in a mentality that allows me to do productive tasks in the off-season for camp.  This year, however, I had a job that didn't require too much preparation or attention away from the job, so that opened up a lot time for me to do camp things remotely from my apartment (which was truly great!).

Enough about me though, I want to talk about the summer now!

Summer Camp!

I have enjoyed camp this summer immensely (one of my favorite summers for sure).  Like any summer, there have been challenges and unexpected events that can be stressful, but having incredibly creative cabin counselors, leadership staff that is super cohesive, and many memorably wonderful campers it makes all of these things afterthoughts.  This being the first summer that I spend at camp without Amy, I came in with plenty of apprehensions, not sure how this adjustment would manifest itself (especially after having lived with her for the past year).  POOP week and the beginning of Staff Training week were particularly difficult for me.  I still had some close friends on staff with me but it was just a little different than having my girlfriend of eight years and my little brother/best friend with me.  In transition times or during down time when I would spend them with Amy and Isaiah, I found myself feeling a little bit lost.  As the week progressed, I began to realize (through the help of some amazing people) that rather than dwell on the things that I was missing, I should try my best to live in the moment and get to know those who were around me. 

Such a Wholesome Group

On Wednesday night of Staff Training week, we decided that we were going to do a full campout experience so that those who hadn't done one through the perspective of a counselor would have the opportunity to do so.  To be honest, I was not looking forward to it.  As a counselor, I enjoyed cooking out and spending time away with my cabins, but there has always been something about sleeping in the great outdoors that I have trouble coming to love.  However, I knew that as a program director, it was important for me to put my program face on and enjoy it as much as possible.  As the evening progressed, I found that I was enjoying myself and my company far more than I had anticipated.  I was learning knew things about those that were in my group and really feeling more connected than I had for the previous few days. 

Our Campfire

As the evening was coming to a close, I began to settle down in the tent, getting ready to read before I went to sleep.  As I was doing so, Jake (a former camper of mine and first year counselor) came to settle in as well.  I read for a few minutes in silence and then suddenly he asked "what is your biggest piece of advice for me as a first year counselor?"  I answered the question the best way that I could, and ended up having a really lengthy, meaningful conversation, something that I had not expected at all.  It was a real turning point for me as far as feeling connected and part of a community that I had been in for so long.  I woke up the next morning looking forward to the summer to come and really feeling positively about the strides not only I had made, but that the rest of the staff was making as well!
Thursday of Staff Training week was our mandatory fun time, and boy was it a doozy (yep, I said doozy).  We began our mandatory fun by gathering at Lauren's camp and just spending some quality low-key time together.  Katherine and I split the counselors up and we were able to pair some counselors with their "Friends for Life."  After that, we made the big reveal of cabin pairings.  This has been a stressful process in past years, as some personalities just don't necessarily work well together.  This year, thankfully, that was not the case.  As the leadership group discussed the pairings there were really no red flags that were rising.  As we announced the pairs, there was some outward excitement as well as some inward enthusiasm about the people each person would be working so closely with all summer.  We breathed a quick sigh of relief... no drama in the announcement this year (Phew).  The afternoon continued with some grilling, going to Belfast for Ice Cream, and culminated with some candle pin bowling to end the evening.  Earlier in the day, each group was given the assignment to pick out costumes for the last event (which at the time was a mystery).  Once we got to the alley, we costumed up (my team was Hawaiian themed).  I never thought I would ever laugh or dance as hard as I did while we bowled.  It became clear to me as we were bowling, singing, and dancing together that this year's staff was in it for the right reasons, and it was going to be an absolutely amazing summer.  At one point towards the end of the night, Mike pulled me aside and said "Look at this Noah and remember it when you are feeling exhausted and frustrated in the middle of the summer."  It was really valuable advice.
Bowling ended, we climbed back on the bus, and traveled back to camp, visibly drained for the activities of the day.  As we filed off the bus, I could feel the positive energy from the staff and felt very confident that we were about to have one of the best summers ever!

Best Staff Ever?

More to come about the later weeks soon!
Until Next Time!    

Happy Father's Day (Yes, It's Late)

Hello blog world!  I am finally out of the woods after a stellar summer (more to come on that at a later date) and am excited to be back in the blogosphere.  As much as I want to tell you all how much fun I had at camp this summer, I missed a very important day on here and need to rewind back Father's Day to give a little airtime to a living legend and my wonderful father!

Meeting Dan Spofford is an experience that few people would ever forget.  His constant smile, enthusiasm, and occasional toilet humor attract people to him.  Whether I am in church, visiting him at work, or meet someone in passing who knows Dad, the response to me telling them that I am his son is always the same.  The person's face lights up with a smile and they say "Oh you're Dan's son!"  I haven't met too many people in my life that are able to leave that sort of impact on people.  One day I went to visit dad at the hospital he works at and wasn't quite sure where his office was, because he had just relocated.  I went to the front desk and asked where I might find him.  The woman at the front desk didn't know him by name, but once I told him that he is in charge of patient care satisfaction, it came back to her and she said "Ohh yeahh, he's the one that's always smiling, he must be great to have as a dad!!"  It's true, it really is.

In my post about my Mom, I talked a lot about how she lives with a quiet calm demeanor.  Dad does not.  Although he shares many traits with my mother, (i.e., thoughtfulness, kindness, compassion, zeal for family, love of God, many others...) quietness is not one of them.  When the boys come home from being away, Dad is always there to greet us in excitement (often jumping up and down calling us one of many of our nicknames, mine is Noodie).  He whoops and hollers, as we squirm through his excitement.  While we pretend to hate this ritual, it is one that deep down inside we all know we look forward to as we enter the house.

One thing that I have definitely inherited from my Dad is the love of singing (and doing it constantly).  When we are home and wake up on the weekends or holidays there are two things that we can bet on. 1) There will be a delicious breakfast prepared.  2) Dad will be singing as he greets us in the morning.  He is certainly a morning person and there have been more than a few mornings that his energy has been met with chagrin from one or more of us boys.  After a little while though, the energy he shares with us (the coffee helps too) finally kicks in, and we have a great day.

Dad is a man of many emotions and wears all of them on his sleeves.  We always know if Dad is happy, sad, exhausted, or upset, because he (or his behaviors) will tell us.  On occasion Dad has been known to lack a filter and often says exactly what's on his mind.  This is a trait that most of us boys share within the house and with those closest to us, but hide it well otherwise.  The first time I ever brought Amy home to meet my parents, my Dad immediately began to dance with our dog Sam and started sing "once in love with Amy," I almost died.  Fortunately, he didn't scare her away, and she has stayed around for a while.

Due to Dad's outspoken nature, there is never any questions about where his priorities in life lay.  Family is definitely within the top two for him.  He constantly reminds us boys how much he loves us and provides praise, advice, and support at times when we need it.  Sometimes, when it is necessary, he gives us the hard truths, and tells us the things we don't want to hear when we need it the most.  There is no doubt that he puts our needs before his own, and always has.  For years, he and Mom provided an amazing taxi service to us as they carted us all around the state to play soccer, nearly every single weekend.  I am sure there are things that they would have rather done, but they dropped their plans in order for us to be successful doing the things that we loved.  On occasion, Mom and Dad planned day trips and gracefully took things in stride, as we complained incessantly about having to wake up so early.  Instead of turning the car around, Dad spent the car rides singing and pointing out how beautiful the scenery was around us.  Looking back, I am grateful to have had these opportunities and I often find myself admiring views and scenery and think of my younger years.  I often find myself striving to live my life with the same selflessness that my parents modeled for me!

I still share recliners with Dad! (It's much less comfortable)

 If I had to pick the biggest similarity between me and my dad, I would definitely say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree with our sense of humors.  When I go home and see Dad, it does not take long before we can get each other laughing.  Part of Dad's sense of humor that I value most is his ability to laugh at himself (something that I think not enough people are able to do).  When he makes a mistake or misspeaks, he does not beat himself up over it.  Instead, he laughs it off.  When he does, he often causes others around him to laugh too.  I am so happy that I have inherited this quality (as well as the propensity for toilet humor). 
Something that I admire about my Dad that I would love to be better at is the ability to provide compliments and let people know how he is feeling.  Dad provides a never ending chain of compliments to me and constantly builds me up, even during hard times.  I think that I can attribute my self confidence to his praise of me when I was younger.  I often notice when people do great things, but I hold it inside rather than praising them for what they've done, and I want to get better at saying "Great Job!"
Anyways, if you all can't tell, my Dad is awesome, in fact, I think he's the best Dad in the World!  I know that many people feel strongly about their own and that's okay (but I know who the real best is...)  He is kind, compassionate, God-fearing, silly, and all-around wonderful!  Sorry this is late, but thanks for being an excellent Dad!!

(He's still a world famous napper)

Until Next Time!!