A few years ago, we were excited to learn that Craig, one of Troy's very best friends, had been offered the job of director over Aspen Grove Family Camp. It is a camp owned by BYU and is located up Provo Canyon, right next to Sundance. Entire families or big groups can book a week up at camp and there are tons of activities they can do like pottery, swimming, climbing, and more. Actually, my family went for a week back in the early 80's - I might have been 8 or 9. Sadly the only things I really remember about the place are my fury that I had to be in a little-kid group when my big sister got to be with the big kids (a theme of my childhood), and a big swimming pool and also getting food poisoning. So not great memories for me, but from what I hear, it's a great place!
Ever since Craig got the job, Troy and I have both been thinking about what a neat thing it would be if our kids could work there under the care of Craig, one of the best men around. Of course with Chase being the oldest, we thought about it for him first. We even thought about it in previous summers, before he was 18, but then he'd have to actually live with Craig and we thought he'd rather be more unified with the staff. But this year was different. As his extremely wacky senior year continued on, Troy mentioned the idea of having Chase apply to work there and I instantly felt like that was a fantastic idea. Chase needed more convincing. When we first proposed the idea to him, he did seem pretty open to the possibility. We talked about the chance to move away from home without really having to move away, and to be away from us (a major perk after a year of quarantining with us), and being with a ton of kids. Oh yeas and making money. All great things.
Of course this was a huge huge step for him, and huge change, and he was very anxious about the whole thing, more and more so as time went on. He applied for the job, and got through the interview processes and was initially turned down, then was later offered a job of working in the dining hall. That rollercoaster was tough on him, and having no idea of what to expect or what it would be like, Chase got more and more nervous about doing this. He had a lot of angry times and a lot of really anxious times. It wasn't easy. But Troy and I both knew deep down that as soon as camp got started he would truly be happy. Probably happier than he's been in ages. We were able to have many talks with him, hoping to help him use this experience to develop faith and confidence and trust. To know that even though he felt so anxious, there was a good thing coming and he could learn to work through his fear. I know it was hard for him but he didn't quit.
My favorite memory during this time was when we had to go down to Provo for him to sign some papers and the whole drive down he just got grumpier and grumpier. Stopping at Popeye's helped a little, as fried chicken often does, but still, it wasn't pleasant. We got there and made our way to the correct office, which was staffed by a trio of absolutely darling and very friendly, helpful girls. They were so kind and gracious and we got everything all squared away. When we left, I asked him how he felt and he just gave me a big growl and said, "RRRR! They were just so NICE!!!!" Then we started laughing. What it came down to was the fact that he knew he needed to take this job, he knew he was going to love it, and he was sort of mad to know that he was going to like it even though he didn't want to do it.
One thing that really helped was the day we took Chase to visit the camp. We knew half of his anxiety was due to the fact that he had no idea what this place was like. We called up Craig and spent a beautiful Saturday evening walking around camp, getting a tour, checking out the living quarters (which just so happened to be the same tiny A-frame cabins that guests like myself used to stay in) and seeing the dining hall. It was really fun and I know it helped Chase a lot.
Still, there was a lot of trepidation. We felt instinctively that the sooner Chase got on with this big step the happier he'd be. There were several staff trainings that were happening before Chase was even going to be done with high school, and we decided to make arrangements for him to attend those even if he had to miss school. I called his counselor and to my shock, discovered that the one class he had that last quarter of school he didn't even need. He had all his credits. What a blessing. We had him drop the class, and in the middle of May, I took him to Provo Canyon, helped him move into his tiny cabin, and then I drove away.
Um, OUCH. Even with him being a surly man-child who was clearly so over hanging out with his mom, it was really hard to leave him there. I knew he was going to have a rough couple of weeks - learning a new job is always pretty sucky, especially when it's your very first job. Plus leaving home for the first time. It was going to just be something he had to get through.
It's hard to express here what it is like to see your child learn things and grow and develop. There have been many many very powerful experiences over the spring and into the summer. Chase did indeed have a rough few days at first. And he does not like the job part of his job at all. I mean, who would just love doing dishes for hours on end? But he has had many confirmations of the feeling that he is where he is supposed to be. That God is mindful of him and that this is a very important summer for him. I myself received much comfort as I have worried about him, feeling that there is a plan for Chase and that we just need to keep moving forward.
So now he's been doing this for six weeks or so. He's been coming home pretty much as much as he's allowed to - the first weekend he came home just for one afternoon and it was rough to know that he was struggling. He came home for almost a full week when he was graduating from high school, and again dreaded going back. But every weekend after that was a little easier, and then last weekend he didn't come home at all. And even from his first few days there he started telling stories of all the people he was starting to hang out with and all the crazy stuff they were getting up to. He's making so many wonderful friends, just like I knew he would. I miss having him around, at the same time I don't. Knowing that he's working super hard and playing super hard in such a wonderful and positive environment is more than I could ever hope for. I'm so grateful and happy.
These are all photos of the day I dropped him off. Clearly it's an incredible place to be.
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