Lincoln Miller

北喬治亞山脈高處的藍(lán)嶺營地是孩子們心中的理想營地。因為新冠肺炎，營地活動曾被禁止。如今，藍(lán)嶺營地重新向孩子們開放，給他們的生活帶來更多的色彩。

High?in?the?North?Georgia?mountains?lies?Camp?Blue?Ridge?（CBR），?a?co?educational?sleep?away?camp.?In?2020，?after?more?than?50?summers?of?campfires?and?memories，?owners?Joey?and?Lori?Waldman?were?forced?to?shut?down?the?camp?due?to?the?coronavirus?pandemic.

“Camp?is?often?the?place?where?our?campers?feel?the?most?included，?the?most?accepted，?and?understood，”?the?Waldmans?told?me?in?an?email?interview.?Like?campers?in?other?parts?of?the?country，?members?of?the?Blue?Ridge?family?were?disappointed?when?they?heard?about?the?closure.

Fortunately，?Blue?Ridge?and?other?camps?nationwide?were?able?to?reopen?this?past?summer.?Blue?Ridge?welcomed?more?campers?than?ever?this?year.?Like?many?other?kids，?I?attended?CBR?for?the?first?time.?As?my?mother?explained，?“We?saw?how?you?missed?your?friends，?and?we?wanted?to?give?you?the?opportunity?to?be?a?kid?again，?to?make?up?for?everything?that?the?pandemic?took?away?from?you.”

I?loved?my?first?camp?experience?and?can?t?wait?to?return.?According?to?the?Waldmans，?other?campers?benefited?from?their?time?away，?too.?“It?s?a?huge?positive?for?so?many?families?and?it?proves?how?important?and?beneficial?camp?really?is，”?the?Waldmans?wrote.

Noah?Callahan，?12，?of?Georgia?was?among?the?first?time?campers.?“When?I?first?walked?into?the?cabin，?I?was?amazed?that?I?could?be?around?these?many?kids，”?he?said.?“I?was?so?happy！?It?was?very?meaningful?for?me，?after?almost?a?year，?to?finally?have?so?many?activities?available?to?me，?from?gardening?to?drums.?I?loved?it.”

Blue?Ridge?provided?an?opportunity?for?kids?like?me?to?get?back?to?friendships?and?activities?after?months?of?pandemic?related?stress.?The?Waldmans?felt?the?same?way.?“This?pandemic?has?affected?all?of?us，?no?matter?the?age，”?the?couple?wrote.?“Camp?offered?a?safe?and?healthy?haven?for?us?all?to?reconnect?in?person?and?remember?what?a?social?and?loving?species?we?are.”253BDD9C-134C-42E8-A3C6-BDB324C66E0A