Today I entertained some guests. Laura’s mom and Matt’s mom came to camp for an afternoon visit. We’ve had this planned for a couple of weeks because it took that long to find a date that worked for all of us. They brought their swim clothes and we spent a significant amount of time at the beach. Laura’s mom was there first and was able to come out earlier than Matt’s mom. So the two of us went out on the paddleboard.

When everyone was there we swam the lake. One of the former camp counselors who used to work at camp during our first several years here was also visiting for the week. She showed up one day when I was on my way back from taking something to the dumpster. This is how it works, people sometimes just show up. I didn’t have anything going on that morning so we visited for a while and she caught me up on the things.

We used to swim the lake together. She did it more with one of the other counselors at the time, but I had just been thinking of our swims when I was at the lake on Saturday. She wanted to swim this afternoon but I told her some women were coming today. We could maybe all do it together. I checked with the other moms to see if that would seem like something they’d want to do. They seemed up for that and even eager to try.

So I made sure everyone understood that this was not intended to be a strenuous or high-pressure swim. It was meant to be leisurely and everyone would take along a floatation device. You can’t take people’s health and physical abilities for granted. You have to be mindful of who can and who cannot walk down a hill without hurting their knees. Even with the age gaps we had much to talk about in a small Lutheran world.

It was fun. When we returned we sat on the dock and watched a cabin do a canoe race and then a swim one. Elianna came down and I asked if she had to lifeguard. She said no she was just coming down to sit with me. I expressed somehow that it made me happy. She sat with us too and Laura’s mom passed out cookies. After a while we decided we should head back up and get ready for supper. We ate in the dining hall.

I like when parents can come and see their kids in their various elements. One’s coaching and love for athletics was coming out at the beach. Laura’s cabin was trotting for supper so she was in charge of dismissing the tables, leading the song prayers, and distributing mail. Her mom took several pictures from the table. Later on a walk Matt was leading a session of fishing. When he does it nearly everyone always catches a fish.