Happy June!

I love June. So full of possibilities,  flowers blooming, critters stirring, spring rains slowing down giving way to summer sun.

There is something magical about June. I think it comes from childhood. June was always the first month of freedom from the drudgery of the school year. June meant swimming, and camping and sleeping in. June was the best month of the year, the only way it could have been better would have been if Christmas was in June. That would have been a child's dream come true.

My favorite place to be in June was always Camp Sacajawea. It was, and still is a Girl Scout camp in Boone, Iowa. It always felt like home to me. Turning down the red gravel road after the long drive through Boone county always excited me. It meant I was going to the one place in this whole world that I loved more than any other. As the dust would fly past the windows of the car, my thoughts would turn to swimming, camp fires and arts and crafts. Seeing the totem at the gate meant we were finally there.  Unloading the bus and taking my gear up the steps of the platform tent that I would be staying in made me giddy. The opening night campfire was the best night of the summer. The next week of my life was going to be the best week of the year.

I have never had an attachment to any other place like I do to that place. When I get the opportunity to go back there I always jump on it. Stepping out of the car, on to that land, I know I'm home.

They say you can't go home again. They say it will always disappoint you. Changes and aging will make you wish you had just let your memories stand. I went back to Camp Sacajawea a few weeks ago. I was not disappointed. Changes have occurred of course, but all have been for the better. I was happy to see how the camp has grown and modernized. Cabins have replaced the platform tents in several of the units. Flush toilets replaced latrines, (thank goodness!) Made me wish I could go to camp there now. I was happy to see my home flourishing, still making girls happy, and teaching them a few things at the same time. The only thing that made me sad about going back there was having to leave.

There was an old camp song we used to sing called Moon On the Meadow. It had a line in it that completely sums up how I feel about Camp Sacajawea. It goes, "people in cities, don't under stand, falling in love with the land." I'm glad other girls are looking forward to spending part of their June there as much as I did.