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The Last Barn Dance

Camp closing hasn't been sad for me.  I think in the middle of it all I'm just exhausted and ready for a new adventure.  But today all of that changed.

Every term we have a Barn Dance.  It started as just another party in 2001, but it was a party we never let go of and we have had one every term and every retreat for the past fifteen years.  The Barn Dance has become the KCO & KIVU trade mark.  Today so many of our alumni have been posting pictures and memories of both KIVU and of the Barn Dance.  I think the Barn Dance makes us all feel like a family and this last one has made us reflective. . . and it has made me a blubbering basket case.  I am sad.

Maggie was born here the day before we opened our gates the very first time.  This is the camp that made Andy and I jump out of the next (and the debate is still out whether we are falling or flying).  This place has grown me up and made me a better person. This place holds some of my fondest memories and some of my dearest friends.  This place is ours--it is Andy and I's place, it is the KCO and KIVU family's place--it is ours and I do love it and as of tonight I am super sad to that the gates are closing.  Who would have thought that the Barn Dance would have been what turned my tears on, but I'm thankful that it is the Barn Dance that turned the tears on.

Thanks friends and alumni for reminding me how much I love this place and how tightly I hold these treasured memories.

This pictures says everything I am feeling right now.  This is my old dog Jake.  He loved KCO, he loved the KCO parties (mostly because the guys would be cooking burgers out on the grill and they would flip him a couple), but I really think the Barn Dance was his favorite. (Jake was the best dog ever.)  So tonight the people are different.  The dog is different.  But the music hasn't changed much.  The dancing is the same.  The laughter is just as loud.  And my memories are making me smile through these tears that I cannot stop from flowing.

I love this place.  And I'm sad it is over.  What a great run!

Comments

Unknown said…
I miss K-CO :( I miss the Barn Dance, the songs, the laughter, and all of the wonderful people that I met during my time there! I wish I could go back and relive it all over again!
July 30, 2015 at 1:01 PM
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