One Score and Zero Years Ago

Last night I received a text from a friend of mine saying, "You know what we were doing 20 years ago right now, right?"

Of course, I knew exactly what he was talking about after only a couple seconds. We were at our first night at Camp Tecumseh's staff training. Actually, it was the first night for the high ropes course staff members, which both of us were.

I will spare you all the details that I actually can still remember from that day, and skip right to the part where I say that, if not for my experiences at Camp Tecumseh, I wouldn't be a teacher today. I was on the track to do something entirely different with my college career. In fact, I went ahead and graduated in that major, but it didn't take me very long to go back and get my teaching degree back at Purdue (paddling my own canoe, in case you were wondering...) and through IU's on-campus program, was able to do the whole thing in a year and a half.

While I was working at Camp T, I met Woodbrook a couple years in a row, when Mrs. Stephanie Cooper, third grade teacher, after discussing it with her cohort teachers as well as the principal, said, "Hey, Jeff. Come here. Why don't you just come do your student teaching with us? You can work with any of us. Seriously. We'll find you a place to stay."

I did. And then I filled in for Mrs. Vahle on maternity leave, and then I ended up subbing for the rest of that year, and then I got the job of teaching fifth grade at Woodbrook.

I had never planned to work in Carmel.

Don't get me wrong, but the groups I worked with at camp that I enjoyed the most were always those from the little farm schools in the middle of nowhere. They never complained about the food, and they were always so appreciative.

But that's not what life handed me. I'm pretty happy with what I've been given, I have to say. With each passing year, including even the first few, I have found more and more of a home here in Hamilton County. I've now lived here longer than I've ever lived anywhere other than my home where I grew up--and soon I'll be here even longer than that.

To imagine a life where I hadn't met the people and friends that I know now so well... It's hard to think about, really. I'm really thankful that I got the "in" with Camp Tecumseh 20+ years ago now through my former youth leader who was a camper in the Quilting Camp at Camp T. It's a really improbable story.

It's weird to think about where I would be now without that experience.