Carpe diem.  Hope you had a meaningful Passover. Lauren and I thought we would seize the day by updating our blog in anticipation of this summer 2013. We will frame these spring entries as a “Directors’ Blog” where we share ideas we are thinking about that relate to camp in some way. Of course, we might sprinkle them with some behind-the-scenes insider info to let you in on some of what’s going on to get ready for our 66th summer of Blue Star magic.

One read that caught my attention recently was actually an article my dad emailed to me in what has become a Herschthal family ritual of weekly shared e-readings. It is an article about the importance of a family story, or narrative, that connects its members and gets passed down from generation to generation. On multiple levels it really is hitting home for me. Of course, it reminds me of the unifying story we tell each spring during Passover. Also I see connections to the generational transition at Blue Star in which I am grateful to be playing a small part. Continuing to tell Blue Star’s unique story and beginning to add new chapters is exactly what we are venturing to do. Further, the article has me thinking of the stories and rituals Lauren and I will create with Eli as we honor one of our core values of family time.

On a different note…all of our Camp Leaders and our Program/Special Events Directors were in town last month for our annual visioning and planning retreat. Lots of giant post-its were strewn across the walls with tons of cool ideas for things like Color War theme (that’s all you’re getting out of us here!), new In-House Options, and a brand new camp-wide “Weekly Show.” Everyone was fired up all weekend and brought a lot of positive energy. We are excited that we now have sprung forward (though we wish we could get that hour of sleep back) because the next season looks like summer…