Then, of course, our children have to make their own way. Some stay forever and outdo us in the valley. Some love it for a few years but drift in other directions, shaped by the FV experience in ways that are profound, no doubt, but different from our ways. It's okay to live a little vicariously through them. Leaving aside the internationals, our kids generally are those who come the furthest. From Texas, Pittsburgh, Arizona, the Boston area, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, etc.
Whenever I play Geronimo with a village, I inevitably ask for all those whose mom or dad worked at Frost Valley, and am amazed at how many kids run like crazy to find an empty seat.
The paragraph below is beautiful as the words of a father and as someone who loves Frost Valley and cherishes those memories for himself as well as for him, knowing that he must make those memories befit him with his own FV.
"It's amazing how quickly the year goes by and we find ourselves back to the summer again...and nothing brings that home better than connecting with the FV Alumni blog. The pictures of timeless places like the Castle and timeless traditions like the 4th of July festivities and fireworks over the lake somehow erase the fact that over four decades have passed since my first taste of Frost Valley life. One of my more recent 'traditions' had been finding myself at the HoJo's in Liberty the second Thursday night in July, anxiously waiting to be reunited with my son the next day. Well this year, I'm in my living room typing away while Elliot sits upstairs on his X-box after a hard day at my office pulling charts and filing....all in an effort to earn enough money to buy the many hockey jerseys he so covets. It wouldn't have been a choice that I would have made at 15...but as a parent, I am learning that as my son gets closer to adulthood, he needs to make more of his own choices...and that when I'm looking at him, I am not looking in the mirror! I found my nirvana along the trails of Frost Valley winding along Biscuit Creek and on the way to High Falls....his is on a clean sheet of ice 200' by 100'....and a chance to go top shelf against the opposing goalie. When he's not filing charts he'll be attending hockey clinics this summer, and couldn't be happier. Nevertheless, as a fellow FV alum, he too is looking forward to the reunion on Labor day weekend and hopes that we can make the trip up. Wishing you and all FV alumni a terrific summer, and looking forward to more of the blog!--Lee Fleischer"Above: that's Lee, the camper in the big white t-shirt standing in front of Jim Becker (wearing number 16). Lenape, 1971. Lee's year's at FV: 1969-80.
