The Happiness Project

As a parent and a relatively new blog follower, I experienced profound joy when following one of my favorite blogs, The Happiness Project, and its author Gretchen Rubin had a wonderful, camp answer to the question she proposed to Rachel Bertsche (author of MWF Seeking BFF), “Have you always felt about the same level of happiness, or have you been through a period when you felt exceptionally happy or unhappy – if so, why?”

Rachel responded, "Some of the happiest times in my life were spent at summer camp… I used to feel a happiness rush the moment I stepped off the bus onto the campgrounds … all that was expected of me was to have fun. Suddenly there wasn't the pressure of grades, or the social drama that seemed to accompany school… It probably won't surprise you to read that my best friend in the world went to camp with me, so that increased my happiness plenty. Camp basically provided a double-happiness boost: it removed the stress of trying to excel in school or extra-curriculars that existed in my "regular" life, and gave me 24/7 friend time!”

What a tremendous gift that we can give to our children – the gift of a couple weeks of a “double-happiness boost” – no stress and friends 24/7!

- Marie Schmid, Executive Director, Camp Foley.