A Summer that will last Forever

It started out like any other summer for me. Just a regular kid, fresh out of school with all the time in the world on my hands. But this summer was a little different, to me this summer is going to be a summer that helped shaped me into the person I am today. Now, growing up, Tim Hortons was always a part for my life. My Momma needed her daily morning coffee and my sisters an I always anticipated the morning drive to Timmies. Your most likely wondering why this pertains to the beginning of my story; well Ill tell you. That summer I was chosen to take part in the Tim Hortons Childrens Foundation Camp in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. I could not wait! This was freedom at its max for me. I came from the small town of Port Colborne, Ontario. Personally, I've never been away from Momma for more then a night, but on the night I was to leave..well...lets just say the next morning she couldn't get me out of the door fast enough. The drive there seemed to take an eternity...honestly, I was going to a Tim Hortons camp! I thought the walls were going to be made out of doughnuts and I might actually get to drink coffee without Momma knowing, after all only grown-ups drink coffee, she would always say. So, as we walked passed the busses, and stepped into the Tim Hortons to check in...I honestly thought my heart was going to explode, is this really happening to me?! I walked up to the lady, told her my name, and she checked in off a very long list and the best part is she handed me a box of Tim bits! I was on cloud nine! So I shared my precious Tim Bits with my sisters and Momma just had to get her coffee. Just as quickly as I sat down I was getting up to go board that bus. I gave my Momma a quick kiss good bye and told my sisters I loved them. I climbed aboard the big Tim bus and they whisked me off to the airport. Now, I thought the drive to the Tim Hortons check point was long, the drive to the airport took even longer but I had the remainder of my Tim bits and I was in a nice air condition bus. In what felt like one quick swoop, I was on a big steel bird flying in what seemed like a million feet off the ground. To a not so privileged child, this was like winning the lottery! Oh my, there it was, the big Tim Hortons Childrens Foundation logo. I could hardly contain the massive smile on my faceand theres the ocean! I had never seen the ocean before so when I did I had to do a double takecould something really be that big! Then it hit me, just how many kids were attending that camp, I was terrified, I was extremely shy! But that wore off in a day or two. Oh but the things I discovered! Jelly fish the size of dinner plates, tepees, horses, and games are just a few things I did that summer. I learned independence, strength, courage and compassion. The friends I met there will forever be with me. To this very day I take the lessons learned for that camp and apply them to ever day life. Now Im twenty and the years have gone by but in the mornings when Im sitting at Tim Hortons with my son, having my morning cup of coffee, Im taken back to a time and a place that I hold dear to my heart.