Tueday Nights

I have a lot of "adopted" family members. When I say adopted I mean that there are some very good friends out there who my parents and I pretty much consider loved ones. Two of these people are brothers Joshua and Benjamin James. These young men came into my life when I was about thirteen, and I will never forget them. Their parents live in Florida, so during the off summer months "the boys" (as we called them and everyone knew them), who were now old enough to be living on their own, would spend their winters in New England as well.

Picture: Josh (left) Ben (right) and little sister Shae (middle)

The way Camp Bethel works, everybody watches everyone else grow up. For example, the founding fathers of camp were the first generation, and now, I am the fifth generation of "Bethelites" in my family. Mom has more or less watched all the kids my age from camp grow up. She also watched Ben and Josh become mature, well rounded young men. So during the years we lived at camp Mom and Dad decided to make Tuesday nights "Boys Nights".

Every Tuesday Ben and Josh would come over for dinner around six, be it summer or winter; we would move the kitchen table out from against the wall and drag the two extra chairs from storage. While we waited for dinner to be served, or during desert we would play poker (with monopoly money; although I will admit dealer's choice became pretty cut throat). I learned a lot during those dinners; about the boys, the camp ground, and our religion. Those dinners were one of the hugest influences on me as a teenager and now as a young adult. Ben and Josh did other things with us as well, they even came to Maine with us for a vacation once.

During those days I noticed something different about my parents. Having the boys around seemed to make my father a younger person and my mother more light hearted. They are still in our lives, but in a more distant way that I know we all regret. However there are many moments I will never forget; one of them stands out in my mind and because of it I will always wear a skirt to church!