Camp Jubilee

Yesterday, I loaded my children into our vehicle, packed some essentials, and headed up to Camp Quaker Heights for Camp Jubilee. CJ is a week long camp held at CQH for adults who have a mental or physical handicap. These campers stay in a cabin for the week and have a GREAT time. My first experience with CJ was a bit frightening. A lot of the campers can be extremely touchy-feely and make you feel extremely (but unintentionally) uncomfortable. I was in charge of the canoes my first year and sat at the dock for eight hours straight. The counselors would bring the campers down to the dock, and my job was to help the campers into their life jackets and into the canoes and paddle boats. It was a task! My favorite memory of that year is witnessing Ric Garrison jump out of a paddle boat to escape the wandering hands of a young lady camper. Do you remember the game "Are you nervous?" from junior high? As it turns out, Ric wouldn't have been very good at that game.



This year I didn't have a job or task. I took my three kids up to hang out with the campers and staff. My kids haven't been exposed to many people in wheelchairs or with mental disabilities, and I am choosing to be proactive in introducing them to all of the different people that God has made. A few days before Christmas, a few friends and I took our kids to a retirement home to sing to the residents. Judah gave a hug and a kiss to every person he saw (about 40 people) before we left. He kissed the knees of the residents who were in wheelchairs. It was very sweet. I know some kids who are terrified of people in wheelchairs, so my goal is to expose them to these people in a safe environment.



I think my mistake was in not explaining to my children where we were going before we got there. We arrived during karaoke hour, which was fantastic! The campers were all in the lodge, singing and dancing to "Sweet Caroline" when we walked in. We were immediately surrounded. Most of the campers just wanted to touch my kids. They would pat Mayah's nose and rub her curly hair. Judah buried his head deep into my chest. Mayah endured the petting for an impressive amount of time and followed a counselor around to meet the campers who were immobile and wanted to see the "sweet babies". One lady kept grabbing both of Mayah's hands to dance with her and asking her if she wanted a bottle. Mayah gave her a few dirty looks before running back over to me. Liam was in his car seat with campers hovering over him. It was a task to protect all of my children from having fingers stuffed into their mouths and poked into their eyes.



After about ten minutes of being in the spotlight, the campers went back to their singing and dancing. We joined them in singing "I Love Rock and Roll", "Stacey's Mom Has Got It Going On", and "Yellow Submarine" before the kids were ready to explore the camp sight. After lunch, we went swimming with the campers, and Judah lost his fear. The campers weren't so enamored with my children, so we were able to just soak it all in.

Overall, it was a really good experience for my kids. I hope to go back each year and get them into volunteering at the camp as they get older.