When I was a Junior camper in Greeley, Pa., many moons ago, we woke up each day to the sound of a bugle and our Division Leader calling out “Rise and Shine!” Sometimes he even sang the song (do you know the Rise and Shine song?), followed by what to wear, “longs and longs” (long sleeves and long pants) if there was a chill in the air or “shorts and shorts” on a sunny summer day. I loved hearing those words, rise and shine. It was a call to take on the day, be your best, get up and get going. We’d brush our teeth, comb our hair and head out of our bunk and up to line-up.

At line-up, we’d stand together as a bunk and one camper would step forward, salute the head counselor and say, ”All present and accounted for, Sir!” And if someone in the bunk was away, maybe in the infirmary or on a canoe trip, it would be, “One absent, but accounted for, Sir!”

I think about those camp mornings a lot these days. We’re headed into a new year and a new camp season, Pine Forest’s 86th. It may be winter, but before you know it, spring. Then, the best season of all, summer. It’s a new year, a new beginning, a new morning. Adventure and fun awaits. It’s time to get up and take on the day. It’s time to get going. And just like a bunk at line up, stick together. At camp it’s your bunk, but the rest of the year it’s your friends and family. Make sure that the people who are important to you are in your thoughts, that they are “all present and accounted for,” always. In life, like at lineup, when you are excited to take on the day, this new year, don’t be afraid to show it! Try your best. Stick together. Don’t give up. Make it count. Dream big.

Rise and Shine.

Happy New Year from PFC,

Mickey