DIRECTOR'S DIARY

From the desk of Suzi and MP, aka, Mr.& Mrs. Pierce…

Subject: The Wedding!!!

Hey everyone!

As I write this, it is Saturday morning, about 9 o’clock, and Suzi, Ben, and Max are still sleeping. (Unheard of! Me up first!) Suzi got up at 6 and 8am to say goodbye to our last remaining international and kitchen staff. I said my goodbyes yesterday at dinner. All the post camp family’s left Friday after breakfast, so almost everyone is gone now, and we will be leaving tomorrow. I thought this might be a good time to reflect on the summer, but mostly our wedding.

As all the campers left us last Wednesday morning, the staff that stayed immediately got to work cleaning camp. We always do this, to get camp ready for post camp, which begins Friday at dinnertime, but this year was going to be a bit different. Wednesday at about 5pm, wedding guests were going to start arriving. Some were going to stay in camp, but most in town. Ducky made a dinner similar to parents day lunch, but mostly Brats, and less other fixing’s. It was wonderful seeing many old friends and family whom I haven’t seen in some time. After dinner, we took the party down to the campfire area, where everyone really got to meet everyone. Conor pulled me aside to inform me that he’s in love with my mother. Hmmm, didn’t know what to make of that!!!

Thursday we planned on everyone spending the day at camp doing all kinds of camp stuff: blobbing, skiing, tubing, canoeing, swimming, tramps, tennis, you name it. We only could hope that the weather would cooperate. And did it ever!!! It was a scorcher! Everyone was basically forced to hang out by and in the water all day. Perfect. At 6 o’clock the bell rang to send everyone down to the campfire area to witness the big event. So it was a bit of a surprise to some to see Suzi and me walking up to our cabin at like 5:30! ‘What are you guys doing!?!’ They just didn’t realize that we were still functioning on Agawak time, not real world time. Of course I made it down by 6, while Suzi and the boys went off on their own, only for them to walk her down the aisle to me sometime after 6. Almost all the bleachers were filled, and Suzi’s uncle David performed the ceremony. We even had a few pontoon boats out on the water witnessing!!! As you can imagine, it was magical. My darling Suzi and I were married! Though it was wonderful having so many friends and family surrounding us, it did seem a bit weird not having our 200+ daughters there, too. We missed you! (I promise we’ll get some photos posted soon!)

After the ceremony, we dined in the lodge and danced to the Subcontinentals. It was too much fun! Eventually the party again made it down to the campfire. The stars were beautiful. What more could we ask for!? Paul Bunyan’s for breakfast the next day, that’s what! This time the weather couldn’t hold out any longer, and Friday morning it poured. Whatever. It was a grand 2 days.

2 summer’s ago I brought Suzi to camp. She had to past the test! I kid, but in some ways I am serious. Suzi is a camp girl herself, but it was very intimadating for her to walk into an environment where I had so much history. That first summer was difficult, but I think all it took was for me to go away for a week on the boundary waters trip for her to ‘bond’ with camp. And now, she runs activities, and we have become surrogate parents for many campers and staff. ‘Momma Suza’ is what the internationals call her. She has become a fixture at camp that I can’t imagine what we would do without her. She thinks of everyone else at camp first…always. She’s the best, and I love her very much.

I also must throw in my thanks to Mary for first suggesting the idea of a camp wedding, and then giving us free rein to let us have the wedding we never could have imagined. Thanks Mary!!!

To everyone who has been a part of Agawak for the last few years and have let Suzi and me be a part of your lives, we are eternally grateful. We love you all.

See ya soon…

MP