There are few things in this life that my kids count down for. Christmas, of course. Once the cool fall breezes begin to blow, they start counting the days left until Christmas morning and the excitement builds. Their birthday countdowns begin as soon as their birthday month begins. Summer vacation countdowns usually begin once Easter has passed and accelerate as the mid-Ohio air grows warmer and the trees all turn green.

But nothing, and I mean nothing, could ever come close to the countdown to Camp Luther that begins the moment our camp adventure ends the previous year, beginning at 358 days and counting (365 minus the week we just spent there).

We are currently at 12 days and counting, so you can imagine how excited our house is this week.

Camp Luther entered my life when I met Mike, back when we were in college. Mike grew up going to Luther every summer since he was about 6 years old. He is a 37-year camper, and I am a 23-year camper. It is a church camp for families, and we get to all be kids again, from staying in cabins to swimming at the pool and eating in the dining hall. There is Bible study in the mornings, volleyball, Frisbee golf and the craft cabin in the afternoons; Euchre, board games and ping pong in the lodge until late into the night.

After supper is evening chapel, followed by watching the sunset on the bluff over the lake and then an ice cream or slushy at the camp store. Later, there is always a family activity, like water balloon tosses, face painting or even circus Olympics. And, best of all, preteen curfew is 9 p.m. (Woo Hoo!) Camp counselors check on sleeping kids in the cabins so that the adults can enjoy a more meaningful activity like a faith walk, a play, or reenacting the Underground Railroad. It’s hard to describe, I suppose, and writing words about the late night program seems, well, awkward. But trust me, they always move me spiritually and can’t be missed.

Teens have a curfew of midnight (Yea!) and adults, well; we usually stay up well past our bedtime laughing louder than should be allowed by law as we play cards, Greed, Euchre and Apples to Apples in the lodge. We crawl into bed with exhausted smiles on our faces and are awakened at 7 a.m. by the wake up bell, telling us it’s time to do it all over again.

There are few things in this life that my kids count down for. OK, that I count down for. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could ever come close to the countdown to Camp Luther. I could tell you our excitement is all about the fun we have with friends. I could tell you it’s about the faith and how we draw closer to Christ. And it sort of is all of that.

But it’s so much more.

We completely unplug from the world for one solid week and plug into each other. No cell phones, no laptops, no Internet or anything that begins with an “i.” We talk. We laugh. We pray. We listen. We simply live each moment in the moment.

Something I need to try and do more of in my regular life.

And now we are at 11 days, 23 hours, 49 minutes and counting.

Camp Luther here we come!