Jeremy

"Oh man, I got another Jeremy."

I still remember uttering those words.  It was the summer of 1984.  I was working as a counselor at a Bible camp.  Every Sunday, we would receive a list of campers that we would be in charge of for the upcoming week.  This week it would be third graders.  It was probably just coincidence, but after just over a month of camp, I'd noticed that boys named Jeremy seemed a bit more spirited than average.  I suppose having kids that are strong in spirit should be looked at as a good thing for a church camp.  At the time, I just saw sleepless nights in my future - Jeremys particularly love to talk into the night.

The kids arrived and I met Jeremy.  He was the only child out of the group who was not brought to camp by a parent.  A family friend dropped him off and left.  Jeremy explained proudly that his parents were on vacation in Europe for the summer.  He'd already been to two other camps this summer and he had more awaiting him after ours.  The other boys were in awe of him.  How lucky he was, they thought, to get to spend the summer at so many camps.

Jeremy lived up to my initial expectations.  He was spirited and he definitely loved to talk.  Over the week, I learned that what he needed was just someone to listen.  By mid-week, I was glad that he was a part of my group.  At the end of the week the parents returned to camp.  The kids performed a few songs and showed off their favorite parts of the camp before leaving.  I wondered if the other boys in my group were still in awe of Jeremy as they hugged their parents and he walked off with the family friend, ready for the next camp.  For his part, Jeremy was as chipper as ever, smiling and waving as they drove away.