Camp...

Wowie! Where has my summer gone?! I've done a lot this summer. I've had my dance recital, gone to two camps, done a whole ton of AP homework, and had summer intensives for dance. Next week I'll be in Canada the first half of the week, then my parents are going to drop me off at camp on Wednesday. So... Here's a problem. What do you do with your brace at camp?

Well that depends on a lot of things. How hot it is, what you're doing, and where you'll be going.

The first camp I went to this summer was called Impact. It was a youth rally down in Tennessee and it was HOT there. Most of the days it was 90 something degrees but if you were outside it felt like 100 and something degrees. This was a conundrum. So for that camp I ended up only wearing my brace while I was sleeping and when I was in my dorm room with my roommate. I really wanted to wear it more, but we were constantly outside for one reason or another and even when I was inside their student center, sweat would run down my back. I tried to wear it the first full day I was there, but I was boiling.

The second camp I went to was called NOCYC. It was at this really rustic camp and I got 30+ mosquito bites I swear. I COUNTED them. Again, it was uncomfortably hot with the brace on, and I tried it for a day, and then couldn't do it. We were constantly doing sports activities and so I really shouldn't have worn my brace for that anyway. So I again just wore my brace at night and in the evenings when we just had devos and stuff.

The one I'm going to next week, I have been to before. I have gone every year for the past seven years. I know what to expect at this one. I know for sure I'll be able to wear it more than at the other ones, because I know what we'll be doing everyday. It doesn't really matter all that much anyway since I'll be getting there halfway through the week. I'll only be there Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

So my advice for this is to wear the brace as much as you can. You can ALWAYS wear it while you sleep so that should give you some time in it. Ask someone what you're going to be doing so you can take an educated guess as to whether you should wear your brace. But also remember that the time you have in your brace is limited, so you SHOULD be wearing it as much as possible.

Also, if you're going to camp this summer, stay safe and have a good time!

ILY ALL,

Ann Marie *>*