There's nothing quite like catching up with old camp friends. There's just something different about them, anyone who's ever worked at a summer camp will tell you the same. Every time you see them, no matter how long it's been the same things become funny again, the same stories re-told for the umpteenth time are imbued with the hilarity of the first telling, and inside jokes that you couldn't stop doing for months after camp (that none of your other friends found funny, even after multiple explanations) finally, deliciously, flow like spirits.
Just for a moment, all your "maturing"and "normalcy" is stripped away and you're that wild, weird, and probably awkward teenager you once were (and really, kinda had to be to do camp at all) all over again.
They're probably the cheapest time machine you can find.
And this past weekend I got to ride in the DeLorean of old friendships, as I watched, and stood by, one of my oldest camp friends tie the knot with the girl of his dreams. It was a great time, not only for the two of them, but also me. As, like any great wedding, there was a great opportunity to see friends long gone once again. This of course lead to much joking, awkward dancing and deep conversations.
The three hallmarks of every great camp friend relationship.
I did camp during the summers for 6 summers as a staff member, then three more as an actual camper, in total 15 and a half months of my life if you were to put it all in a row, but that's the thing about camp, it's never all in a row. It's an environment that is constantly almost here and almost over, where you're never sure which goodbye is the last one, and where you say new ones every week, and where people you've know for two weeks can seem as close as family. It's the one place where weeks pass faster than days.
That's why it's so weird seeing camp friends get married. I've seen it a couple times now, and it took me until now to understand why it's always such a surreal experience. Why does it always seem so preternatural?
Because it denotes change.
Marriage changes your life in many ways. Of course, we all know that. Just ask any stand-up comedian from the 90's, they'll all tell you. Marriage is one of those big things in life, that comes along (statistically more than once), that changes the lives of those two people forever.
But, how about the rest of us? The ones on the sideline?
I think it's weird for me to watch my old camp friends proceed in the noted tax-haven that is marriage, because the little tiny voice in the back of my head that always thinks "Can't wait to see them next summer!" is finally shut off for good. Which is ironic, because I'm not even going this year myself, but I mean I always could. And so could they. Until they tie that knot.
Don't get me wrong, that's not a bad thing at all. But it does mean that I'm probably not going to see my friends in that context, ever again. It's the end of an era. But instead, the beginning of a new one.
That kind of transition does tend to give someone an added layer of perspective. For me, it meant seeing a very clear picture of the kid I was 6, 7, years ago, and the person I am now, all at the same time. Clearly laid out in stark contrast. For me, this is yet another transition, another change, another piece in my misshapen existential puzzle of self identity.
But nothing throws your mind in for quite the same trip as finding out that you've had a friend almost disappear for good. A separate event this weekend, that needs no more attention here, but was none the less, impactful.
Everybody knows, it sucks to grow up, So weird to be back here.
-Matt
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