The Ultimate Holiday Week

We have discovered it. It is very nearly the perfect holiday for a family of five, all under age 5 (well, except the parents, and sometimes we act like it). This past week we were nurtured at a special Bowen Island/West Vancouver/Mount Vernon, WA weeklong camp at Barnabas Landing. This is a very special camp located on very nearby Keats Island. We had been there two years ago, literally one week after we had moved to Canada. Last year we had company from California with us during that week, so we missed it (and loved having our company!).

This year we decided that the location (simply gorgeous both at the camp itself and the views it looks out to), the number of activities designed for children, and the friends going made it the perfect option for this summer. Most families come and tent under the stars in the apple orchard, but I just couldn't see us stressing out through middle of the night feedings and early morning risings with our three, so we rented a room. There are two lovely buildings with bed and breakfast style rooms. The view from our window made it very difficult to convince Chris to close the blinds at night (it is dark until after 10 here, so even with the kids asleep, we can look out on Creation in all of its glory). The kids each built a nest in the corners of the room, and Sage slept in a pack and play in the closet, en route to the bathroom. She was an incredible trooper - she took great naps, slept well at night, and generally ignored the great amounts of noise that go on about her.


The week is loosely structured like this - breakfast as a family, followed by family huddle in the morning (singing songs, watching a Narnia inspired skit, getting ready for the day). Then the kids go off in age appropriate groups with incredibly loving counselors. While the kids are happily at "class" with their "teacher" (this is a tribute to how much my kids love school), the adults had time as a group for discussion and lecture. This year the topic was "Soul Food" - and our leaders were Rory Holland, Ron Reed, and Jordan Roberts. There is no official website for Jordan, and the two links I'm providing here can do NO justice to the really spectacular nature of this screenwriter/director. In addition to writing and directing his own film, Around the Bend, Jordan was brought in to write and direct the thoughtful narration to March of the Penguins. There is so much I could say about the individuals, but I want to respect their privacy and simply say that my soul was fed in getting to know them better and getting to know our group better. Families reunite for lunch and an afternoon together - on the waterfront, at crafts, hiking, sleeping, eating... something for everyone! After dinner, the entire group gathers for a fire-less campfire experience, and then the kids return to their counselors, who read them a bedtime story (at least if they are my kids age... I suspect the older kids get to play night games and go for swims and basically revel in the supervised opportunity to be about without their parents), and put them to bed, while the adults return to more time for soul food. A nearly perfect combination of time with and without the kids!

It is amazing to me how a group of 69 people, from ages 3 months to, well, much, much older (lets say 45 and make everyone feel good!), can come together for five days, and with the desire to be open with themselves and their families, become fast friends and a genuine community. Within a day, we are all sharing kids, passing babies, bouncing on the water trampoline, eating more tasty meals than could be believed, and having deep, life changing conversations at the same time.

There is also the great generosity of spirit that emerges from a group like this. Poetry was shared, kleenex passed, a night of great music (Bowen is so fortunate to be home to the likes of Shari Ulrich and David Graff), the give and take of helping each other handle the children... I felt so cared for in this environment. It is definitely in part to the people who come, but even more to the people who run Barnabas Landing. Everything they do is imbued with a sense of service to the Divine, and it overflows to the their staff and their guests. We all walk away refreshed and blessed.