I sent out a newsletter last week with a question asking readers to share a best summer memory. It’s been fun reading about what has made summers special for you all. Some have loved a certain summer because that’s when they met their husband to be. Others have loved summers because that’s when they gave birth to one of their children. Some of you have had the perfect vacation and a few of you are having that perfect summer this very year.
Memories of summer camps ranks high on the list of best summers ever. When I read Erin’s best summer ever camp story, I had to smile and I think you might too. So here’s Erin’s story.
Best summer ever was probably the one between my sophomore and junior years in high school. I’d decided to quit babysitting, but hadn’t gotten a “real” job yet. Our church denomination had several weeks of “summer camp” at the district campground – one for Sr. High, one for Jr. High, one for 5-6 graders and one for 3-4 graders (1-2 graders had a day camp). That particular year, I went to Sr. High camp as a camper and the other 3 weeks of camp as a Jr. Counselor. I really loved camp, lol.
The week of my birthday (I believe) was 5-6 grade camp week. Some of the girls in my cabin had brought rubber rats and cockroaches to camp to scare people with. That night, they had planned to take them to chapel services and I told them no – I didn’t want to disrupt the spirit of the service – they could take them anywhere BUT chapel. So, they relinquished them and I tossed them on my bunk before heading out the door with “my” kids to chapel.
Unbeknownst to me, my parents had decided to surprise me, bringing cake and gifts to camp. They came while we were all at chapel services because they knew no one would be in the cabin and they could surprise me. A friend that they had brought along had planned to get into my bed and jump out to yell “surprise,” but the surprise was on her when she found those rubber rats and cockroaches! So funny! That was my favorite summer because I got to go to camp all 4 weeks and get a surprise birthday.
As a follow up, in order to remember them and that fun week, the girls gifted me with a couple of the rubber cockroaches. I have them in my “memories box” in our basement storage area. When our basement flooded a few years ago, I couldn’t bear to see what had been damaged in my box, so my husband went through it for me. He had a similar scare when he came across those cockroaches!
Thanks for always hosting such fun giveaways! I love traveling down memory lane for these!
And thank you, Erin, for sharing your fun story with us. And before any of you point it out, I do know that bug in the picture is not a cockroach. But I have never had any interest in taking a picture of a cockroach. However, I did like snapping this picture of a June bug. That’s one of my summer memories. We used to catch the poor bugs and tie a string around them somehow to make a buzzing pet. Also, June bugs figure in my memories of picking blackberries as a kid. The shiny bugs like to munch on too ripe berries and give you a start when they buzz right toward you. Those and garden spiders, not to mention snakes, can make berry picking interesting and memorable.
If you haven’t entered the giveaway from getting my newsletter, you can leave a comment here to enter. The three prizes are Barnes & Noble gift cards ($25 each) and your choice of one of my books. Deadline to enter is midnight EST August 6, 2019, and you must be at least 18 years old to enter. I chose those B&N gift cards to celebrate The Refuge being one of Barnes & Nobles picks for their half price Uplifting Summer Reading promotion. You still have a couple of weeks to grab the book at half price at Barnes & Noble online (looks like it qualifies for free shipping too) or in a store near you.
As always thanks for reading and sharing stories with me.
