Take the detour

Week 4: Finding new flight paths as we depart from Camp

In case you missed it, all August long Outsourced Optimism will be transformed into Camp AweGust, a 4 week, choose-your-own-adventure, virtual summer camp designed to combat the Sunday Scaries of Summer (otherwise known as Blah-Gust…I mean, August). We tackle the seasonal burnout and anxious boredom of these dog days with imagination, creativity, and the kind of simple joys that make us feel like a kid again. The best part is– you don’t have to go anywhere. We’ll find magic and delight and freedom exactly where we are.

It’s completely free. All are welcome. And you can invite anyone you want. In fact, it’s highly encouraged. All you need to do is bop these buttons to Subscribe and Share.

Ready to dive in? Keep scrolling to join our Week 1 festivities.

If you’re lost, follow these sign posts:
🪧 Front Desk: Get the lowdown on this year’s Camp AweGust
🪧 Opening Day: Get the lay of the land and meet your fellow campers
🪧 Time Travel (to past weeks): Week 1, Week 2, Week 3

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Well, Campers, we did it! We made it to the end of August. In some ways, time has felt slow and in other ways it’s giving me a bit of whiplash to realize we’re in the last week of Camp. However we got here, I hope you’ve found a little more lightness, a little more playfulness, and a little more fun this month. If you, like me, are still working your way through the previous weeks’ activities– don’t worry. Remember, you can pick and choose and go in any order you like. If there are challenges you’ve bookmarked for later, but these last few weeks have been too busy– don’t worry. They don’t expire. Revisit them when you can. They’ll be ready and waiting in the Camp AweGust archive. After all, Camp AweGust really is more a state of mind than a place in time.

So, if September finds you searching for clues at your local library and power posing in your bedroom mirror, wonderful! If your fan letters get mailed in October, so be it! If your ice cream invention is still sitting in your freezer come November…well, that might actually expire and you’ll probably want to throw that away. But you can always make another one!

Without getting too smooshy, I just wanted to say thanks for joining in. It’s hard to turn a two dimensional thing into a three dimensional experience and your enthusiasm and participation has made it so. And if that’s not magic, I don’t know what it is.

Every great summer camp ends with an epic tournament of some sort and Camp AweGust is no exception. We may not have a rival camp to compete with, but that doesn’t mean we can’t summon our competitive spirit and get creative with our final imaginative challenge of the season: The Great Paper Airplane Derby!

1. First things first, decide if you will be inviting friends to compete with or flying solo for this mission.

2. Choose your rules. What will you be measuring? Speed, distance, time aloft?

3. What variables will you be testing? Materials, folding techniques? (If you need ideas or instructions, this fold n’ fly guide has an entire database of paper airplane designs to choose from!)

4. Gather your supplies and assemble your flight machines. Feel free to bedazzle them, decorate them, deck them out in branded sponsorship logos, whatever strikes your fancy.

5. Find a nice open space. Grab your stop watch, your measuring tape, your checkerboard flag, your finish line banner. Have your slow motion camera ready. Queue up the triumphant music. And you are ready for lift off!

Register your paper planes and show off your flight projections over at our Derby Circle ✈️ 👉🏻.

Hi Campers! Surprise! ItsmeBuckwheat! I hope you’ve enjoyed our Guest Counselors and their wonderful Wonder Walks (let’s hear it for

Rebecca Holden

Meghan Marsh King

and

Dani Kreeft

👏🏻), but I just couldn’t let a whole Camp go by without hosting one of my own. So, come join me for one last Wonder Walk to close out this year’s Camp season and let’s see what treasures await us in the The Great Outside.

The truth is, sometimes I get bored with my walks. Most days, we cover the same territory morning, noon, and night. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice loop and I love my neighborhood. And I love routine. But it can quickly turn into a rut if I’m not careful. My sniffs become half-hearted, I stop paying attention to what’s in front of me and my imagination starts predicting what’s around the next corner (dangers! loud things! cats!), and pretty soon I’m so in my head I might as well not be on a walk at all.

The good news is, I’ve been in plenty of ruts so I also know how to get out of them. It’s pretty simple really: Take a detour.

Maybe you turn down a new street. Maybe you make a right when you would normally go left. Maybe you go a little farther past your usual turn back point. Maybe you investigate an alley (that’s where all the good street snacks are). Maybe you take yourself to an entirely new neighborhood.

A little change of scenery is always good for the senses. So, this week, let’s mix it up. Because there is nothing better to get out of a rut than to re-route.

Follow this trail to share your detour discoveries to our Wonder Wall 👉🏻

DANCE PARTY FOR ONE

I love a great big, vibrant dance floor as much as the next gal, but when it comes to really letting loose, sometimes I prefer to be home alone. Don’t underestimate the power of 3 minutes with a well-chosen tune and no one watching to lift, enhance, or soothe your spirits. If you’re in a funk, I find that getting funky can really turn things around. When I’m feeling overwhelmed or anxious, something anthemic always makes me feel infinite. And, it might sound strange, but there’s something very soothing and special about slow dancing with yourself. So go ahead and dance like no one’s watching, because no one is.

Let’s pretend the nights are chilly, the fireflies are blinking in the dark, and we’ve got a crackling campfire to gather around before you head back to real life. Join me and your fellow Campers in the comments one last time and let’s share our celebrations, highlights, and takeaways from this month of Camp. Use this fill-in-blank prompt if you’re not sure what to say:

Well, fellow Campers, this has been fun. Before I go, I want to celebrate ___(something great that happened this month)___. I have to say my favorite part of Camp was _____. I’ll definitely be taking _____ with me into the rest of the year. Farewell until next summer!

I’ll meet you down there!

P.S. If you completed 6 or more activities, walks, challenges, or conversations this month, you get a participation prize! Just submit this form by September 3rd and I’ll send you a little adventure pack with a few of my favorite field supplies.