New and Old Memories

Yesterday was the first full day of Camp ASCCA’s summer, and it was amazing! There is a good amount of returning campers as well as new campers. The campers got up very early to kick off the day with the traditional flag raising then breakfast. After this, they split into groups for each activity the program staff had in store for them that day. All the activities were open, but I was assigned to the Demo Farm. The group that went to the Demo Farm was picked up in a people mover by Maddie from Farm Staff to head up to the farm. If you have ever been to the Demo Farm then you know we have bunnies, goats, chickens and a pot belly pig. Yesterday was my first time interacting with the animals, but I want to tell you about this little girl, named Amicha. Amicha is a very quiet girl, but sometimes she will show you in her facial expression if she likes or dislikes something. Out of nowhere she will start crying, so you have to assume she’s either hungry, does not like the activity or a few other options.

The pot belly pig, Hammie, was brought out first, and Amicha wanted nothing to do with him. Next was the bunnies, and you would think every little girl would love these cute and exciting animals but not this one. She didn’t even reach out her hand to touch the fluffiness of the bunny. Next were the chickens. That was a no from Amicha as well, but the goats brought out a certain sparkle in her eye. She was able to get out of her chair and sit on the ground with the little goat and just enjoy his presence. As soon as she heard that the goat’s name was Lightning her face lit up with so much joy and happiness. Some of the other campers took in the joy of the animals but in a different way. Austin loved every animal that he came in contact with yesterday especially the bunny, BB. He said BB reminded him of his old bunny, Mr. Brownie, that he so dearly loved but passed away recently. This memory gave Austin one of the biggest smiles I had seen all day, and all he wanted to do was love BB. He was so upset when Maddie had to take the bunny away from him but that brought back one of his favorite memories, and he will never forget it.

Camp ASCCA can make new memories and old memories come to life just by giving these campers an outlet from the real world. A week of fun, energized campers and counselors is all we need to make every camper extremely happy. Be sure to check out all of our pictures from session one by visiting our Flickr page, and check out our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and news about Session One.