Living in a Winter Wonderland

Happy New Year everyone!  My break turned into just that, a full-on break from everything work-related, including this blog.  I'm back to share another semester of shenanigans and nature with you all!

People ask me about my job all the time.  Mostly it involves the usual small talk (So how's work going?), but other times people are way more curious than I expect.  I'm guessing that stems from the fact that a lot of people don't know someone who works at camp past the summer.  I love answering questions about my job because I love my job, but there's one question that I have begun to dread, especially this time of the year:

"What happens at camp during the winter?"

Now, it's a perfectly valid question, and one that I would have certainly asked someone in my position before I took this job.  Often, people are genuinely curious, but there are some who bring an attitude of incredulity (What do you even DO there?) that rubs me the wrong way.  I get defensive because I do a lot of work at my job.  We are certainly in the midst of our quiet season, but that only means that I've gone from working 12-14 hour days to staying within a more "normal" 8-hour work day, meaning the same amount of work that everyone else does.

Like I said, I think it is a valid question: when you think "camp," you think about swimming, sunburn, creek stomping, tie-dying t-shirts, things that happen when it's hot.  Some simply can't fathom camp without the summer.  Since it is a valid question, it deserves a thoughtful answer now that I've already provided a somewhat snotty one.

What Program Staff Do During the Winter:

• Guest groups - Groups come to camp to use our facilities, and it is our responsibility to be great hosts for them.  We help prepare and serve all of their meals (we usually have to start getting breakfast ready at 7:30), and we set up all of their space and do our best to provide for all of their needs.  You need us to move three couches from the bottom floor to the upper floor of the dining hall?  You got it.  You have to have a AAA battery in the next five minutes?  We'll bring a whole box just in case you need more than one.  The set-up that you sent didn't include the 30 people that signed up at the last minute?  We've got it taken care of.
• Retreats - Along with outdoor education and leadership training, retreats are a big part of what we do during the non-summer part of the year.  We host and facilitate groups from all over the state in many different types of retreats.  Confirmation retreats are especially popular this time of year.
• Cleaning - The cleaning company that we hire during the busy season stops coming in November, meaning that we are responsible for all of the deep cleaning around camp.  That includes the dining hall, cabins, the kitchen, any and all bathrooms, and basically every building on camp.  
• Maintenance - A lot of what we do during the winter has to do with setting up the rest of the year for success.  We do a full inspection of the low ropes and high ropes courses, go through all of the handies (arts and crafts) materials and put them into storage, reorganize all of the programming bins in the Program Staff office, and make sure that all of the areas around camp are clean, safe, and ready for the next group.
• Staff Development - The winter is the best opportunity for us as Program Staff to grow in our jobs and put our stamp on camp.  We have this opportunity to learn about different types of servant leadership, improve our knowledge of the natural setting in which we live, and become better facilitators through different training and certification.  We had an inclusivity training day a few weeks ago, we are doing lifeguard certification over the next month, and we are learning how to interview staff for the upcoming summer season, and that's just a taste of what we get to do over the next couple of months.  Program Staff are also responsible for personal projects, which allow us to give part of ourselves to camp through our passions and interests.  A personal project can be anything, from rewriting outdoor education curricula to creating a new organizational system for camp to introducing a totally new retreat activity.  There is no other chance for that to happen during the rest of the year.

The Benefits of Living at Camp During the Winter:

• It's one of the few times when the woods are actually silent (no cicadas or crickets!)
• Sledding
• Getting to see all of the animal prints on camp after the snow and realizing just how many animals wander around camp
• Having an excuse to buy more super snuggly flannel
• Watching the lake freeze over
• Getting a chance to enjoy each other's company (as opposed to seeing the other staff maybe at meals during the busy season because your group is your main priority)
• Christmas decorations at camp
• Christmas decorations in a small town
• Rejuvenation for introverts (lots of "me time"/opportunities for self care)
• Really cool pictures of camp when it snows
• The realization that you're part of a pretty small group of people that get to see camp like this

I love my job, but I don't pretend that my job is always easy or that I enjoy every aspect.  There are days when it's hard, and I think that is what gets under my skin about people being skeptical that we have work to do in the winter.  I'm proud of the work that I've put into this winter season so far, and I would hate to think that there is someone out there who thinks that I've spent the past month and a half just sitting and waiting for summer to come back.  Winter at camp is magical, and I feel validated in knowing that the work that I do is important, even if most people don't even realize that I still have work to do.  I also realize that I have the incredible gift of living in a world that has inspired poets and artists for centuries, and when I remember that then people's questions suddenly don't bother me as much.