As the clock struck midnight on December 31st, the calendar flipped from 2025 to 2026. Stranger Things streamed its finale and the series ended. The holiday season drew to a close and winter officially took over. And, most notably, Owegans everywhere shifted from saying “Next Summer” to “This Summer.”

Congratulations, fellow campers! We have successfully entered our “THIS summer” phase. We know how daunting it can be to reach the end of an amazing summer and realize just how many days stand between you and your next Owego experience. That 300-plus number is super annoying, right? School starts, life goes on, the weather changes, and you think to yourself, “Next summer is going to be EPIC…when it finally arrives.”

Though the weather outside is currently frightful, you are now in the optimal position to think of camp in terms of words like “THIS,” “UPCOMING,” and “SOON.” You will arrive at 1687 Route 6 and enter through the gates THIS summer. You will attend line-up and eat B’s and D’s THIS summer. You will find out which Olympics team you’re on and which Tent is your Captain THIS summer. And your Frontier Week tribe will burn a rope with the most massive bonfire you’ve ever seen… You guessed it, THIS summer!

The anticipation of what’s to come is a huge part of the excitement surrounding camp. What bunk will you be in? Who will be your Unit Leaders? Will Scotty’s production of “Sponge Bob Square Pants” be even greater than the Broadway version? It can be difficult to wrap your mind around these questions at the start of the school year when you’re preoccupied with homework and extracurricular activities. Camp seems so far off. But with our feet firmly planted in 2026, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

THIS summer, we will paddle canoes and kayaks around the lake, play Magic in the picnic grove, sing Little Red Wagon at Friday night campfire, and swing through the trees on the Ropes course. THIS summer, some of us (this author included) will become Old Timers, while others will attend the ice cream bash for the first time. THIS summer, we will laugh and cheer together, and celebrate everything that makes Owego our home away from home.

So, with apologies to (and appreciation of) Mel Brooks, when will “Then” be “Now?”

SOON.