I took this picture because in my twenty years at Camp Arcadia I have never seen a sunset just like this one. With the rays shooting out of the horizon it looked like the northern lights had invaded the sunset creating a spectacular golden aurora borealis. But the reason I am glad I took this picture is because it reminds me of a special time I had with my family at Camp Arcadia. Just like the many pictures you take at Camp and look at them throughout the year, this picture brings back a special memory for me.
School had been back in full swing for a few weeks. The weather had started to change with a few colder nights and cloudier days. But this day was one last gasp of summer before fall really took hold – a bonus day as Chief Wieherman used to say. While I had been in the office most of the day working, I had my eye on the clock for when the kids came home from school around 4 pm. I met them as they came off the bus and told them that I didn’t care if they had homework or not, we were going to the beach! I had prepared a quick dinner that we scarfed down and then we quickly put on our swimsuits and biked down to Camp for a swim.
When we got there we wasted no time and ran right into the lake. The water was warm (warm enough) and 3 to 5 foot waves were rolling in. We spent over an hour playing in the surf. As the sun set we scampered over to the Trading Post and scooped ourselves ice cream cones, don’t worry, no health codes were violated, I made sure we all wore shoes in the Trading Post. Then, as we ate ice cream I looked out on the patio and saw this amazing sunset in progress and grabbed my camera to capture it. With ice cream melting in one hand I snapped a few pictures of this stunning sunset with the other.
To quote Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” See, I know that times like these are special and with my kids growing up, these opportunities will become rarer. I know that being able to break the script of our normal life with a spectacular evening of swimming and eating ice cream with Camp all to ourselves, is a bit of heaven on earth. And every time I look at this picture I remember that there are more important things than my to-do list.
I remember that it is my faith and my family that are most important, and I give thanks to God.
As you give God thanks for your special memories at Camp Arcadia, please consider making a gift to Camp Arcadia before the end of the year. Your gifts make experiences like this possible for thousands to enjoy each summer. To make a gift to Camp Arcadia click here.
