Filling My Cup at Camp Bluebird

Filling My Cup at Camp Bluebird

I am still carrying the joy of my time with Camp Bluebird WNC—a place where cancer survivors come together not merely to cope, but to laugh, learn, create, connect, and truly live.

For Lee Lee’s Life Lessons, it was important to attend, listen, and learn directly from a community that understands survivorship from the inside out. Seeing how Camp Bluebird creates belonging, laughter, creativity, and peer connection gives us meaningful insight as we continue building Let Us Play programs that honor the whole person—not just the diagnosis. We came away inspired by what is possible when survivors are invited to be joyful, courageous, and fully themselves.

I am deeply grateful to have met so many remarkable survivors who are living their best lives and thriving beyond cancer. Their courage, humor, openness, and willingness to try something new filled my own cup over and over again. There is something profoundly healing about being in a community where people understand the road you have traveled—and choose joy anyway.

A huge shout-out to Lori Fleming, Andy Fleming, and every Camp Bluebird volunteer and sponsor who makes this experience possible. Your care, organization, generosity, and heart create a welcoming space where survivors can feel seen, supported, and celebrated.

And I have to celebrate one very personal micro-success: I sewed a basket! It was the first time I had ever sewn. I may have begun with equal parts curiosity and uncertainty, but I left with a handmade basket and a new appreciation for the joy of being a beginner.

Special thanks to Dana Nickloy for having the patience to teach me. Dana, you made me feel capable, encouraged, and proud of every stitch.

Camp Bluebird reminded me that thriving is often built in small, beautiful moments: making a new friend, trying a new skill, sharing a laugh, or realizing that there is still so much life waiting to be lived.

Here’s to more connection, more creativity, more courage—and more little victories worth celebrating.