Parent Letters

To Max’s counselors along with the whole staff of Eden Village  : )

What a treat for us to read your note, it was accurate and insightful.

Max will be unpacking the wonders of this past month for an unforeseen future.

He chose to come to Eden Village because of his interest in the natural sciences, but I think what will stay with him are the relationships that he was part of, and surrounded by,  even if he is not completely aware of this yet.

He told us that you, [his counselors] were very caring and supportive, and we can’t thank you enough for being with him, and helping him to achieve the whole experience.

Your last paragraph is priceless, and we will cherish your own wisdom from which the comment sprang. You really got, and respected what you called his “quietude” and that is beautiful. I am the complete opposite, so it’s something that I see in Max as part of his nature, and respect. Max is not the first one “in”, he has always kind of hung low until something sits well. It’s an oversimplification to say that he is shy; I think that you really got him!  He is reserved more so.

This was the only camp that I know of where we could feel so comfortable with “lending” him over to grow in a new field.

It was a given for him that homesickness would be an issue, as it is for many, but Max has only had three sleepovers in his whole life before this. He felt determined, and on a mission as he went forth into the camp journey.

We, in our family, have had a number of deaths in his lifetime, and he has also lived through my own battle with Breast Cancer. Eden Village sparkled out to us as an environment that would nurture, and encourage his growth, and we do feel that there is a genuine flow of goodness from the people that choose to be part of this unique, realistic utopia.

To say “thank you”, does not seem to really express the depth of gratitude that we feel.

We have been hearing about so many of the wonderful staff, he speaks fondly of his harvesting time, learning about herbs, and of course every farmer’s favorite activity, Quidditch!

I think also, something that he might not be aware of yet, is the pulling together of his Judaism from the ground up. This I expect will have a very different kind of impact on him when he returns to Day School in a month.

We found the produce section to be an AMAZING trigger this morning for sharing more of his newly gained knowledge of the earth, and he is hot on the trail to whip up one of Baruch’s syrups. The guy at Whole Foods actually gave Max a jar of raw honey to experiment with, and shared his own knowledge with him.

We will forever be so happy that you are all out there building these wonderful connections for and with our next generation.

B’Shalom,
Judi and Steve Rosen

Melissa Church, Philadelphia, PA