One of the most magical times on Planet Arowhon is the hour before breakfast. I was invited to watch an Arowhon A class (a prestigious award in style swimming and diving), this morning, and to be honest when my alarm rang all I wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep. However, the sight that greeted me when I opened my door reminded me of how special this place is. Of course there’s the enchanting beauty of a misty Algonquin morning with the Great Blue Heron unfolding it’s wings and departing the sail dock, feathers ruffled at my disturbing its morning fishing expedition. But what really struck me was the activity out on the lake at 7am. Out of the  mist appeared 3 yellow canoes moving at astonishing speed, the paddlers all completely in sync in their strokes (the Senior Girls training for the Brent run). Closer to shore a medley of multicoloured kayaks rocked and rolled practicing for the glow-stick paddle, and on land Senior Boys were doing sit-ups and push-ups in between sprints around the ML.

As I arrived at the girls dock bundled in sweats and a toque, caressing my mug of coffee, 2 senior campers were already in the water swimming laps of meticulous Arowhon A front crawl. They asked me to watch their strokes and tell them how they could improve, and thanked me profusely for my time and advice. But really I’m the one who should be thanking them because they inspired me with their dedication and drive for success. Seeing their ability to push themselves mentally and physically motivated me to challenge myself as well. As I went through my day, when hard things came up, instead of feeling frustrated and irritable, I thought of those kids on the dock in the early morning chill not letting a bit of discomfort stop them from working toward their dreams. When the clouds opened up and dumped rain on us this afternoon, instead of moaning and groaning, I decided to take a lesson from our campers’ books and put on my boots and jump in a puddle. I learn so much from our campers every day, and combined with the iconic Algonquin mist I know it really is the best job in the world.

-Mara