Red Spruce Grove (RSG), a wilderness program for 11-14 year-old girls, turns 6 this year! We are happy to report that RSG is thriving and full of potential! As a young program, any moment has the potential to quickly evolve into a Red Spruce Grove tradition. Some such traditions that are already forming include our grace songs, “Make New Spoons” and “Hands In The Field,” our 3 daily appreciations, (inner worlds and dreams in the morning, the natural world in the afternoon, and each other in the evening), and Sit Spots, which is a time in the day for each camper to go to a special spot that they’ve chosen. During Sit Spots, campers sit quietly alone and build a connection with that little corner of the universe, drawing, journaling, or simply observing.
Right now, I’m wondering what magical friendships and adventures will our mountaintop meadow host this summer? Which jokes, songs, stories, and celebrations will take hold as the ones redone for years to come? Even while we spend these winter days dreaming for the future and ironing out the logistics, we can’t know the answers until we find ourselves at that moment; the confluence of the people, the place and the time – that is the magic. I am impatiently waiting for summer to discover all that is yet unknown.