Camp

I never went to camp as a kid.

Camp was not an option for us growing up in Chicago. I realize now it wasn't only the money or the lack of knowledge of camps. It was about secrets. If we went to camp, we may have told.

Hiding is very important in a welfare, drug addicted, alcoholic, codependent,dysfunctional family.

This years camping started with Boy Scout camp for my 12 year old son. It's a week long camp with the other members of his troop and about 15 other troops from the area. My husband went with for the week. I think itÂ’s great that Jim is willing to go with Zach to camp. Zach is his stepson-- but we have been a family for about 9 years. Still, a lot of men with rather spend their vacations doing something other than chaperone a bunch of teen-aged boys. Jim is a great guy, plus he enjoys camping. The whole out door thing agrees with him. And the Boy Scout thing is good by him too. Black powder rifles, hiking, astronomy are all things he enjoys.

This was their second year a camp. It went very well.

Then after they got back, Jim and I left for a 3 day trip to a camp in Michigan. Our Sr. High students from Church asked us to chaperone their work/mission trip. It was 3 days of digging in the mud building stairs up the side of a hill, and 3 days of painting in the rain. I hate painting in the rain.

It was a really good trip. Except for the fact that I canÂ’t sleep without my husband next to me. Yah, it's silly. I spent a sleepless week when he was away with Zach at Boy Scout camp and now another 3 days without sleep. But the trade off? Well I learned a lot about the kids in our Church -- they were very open--and they learned about us like how we have ounavelsepriceded!. The kids and my husband got a lot of work done on the stairs. I felt like quite the failure trying to paint in the rain. But next year we'll have a plan B.

I did learn they my kids aren't all that lazy. At least no worse than other kids. Most kids will try to do it the easy way or take a break when the boss isn't looking.

Well now it all wraps up with the kids going off by themselves for a week at a Christian based camp. It's only a few hours away from home, but it will be a world away. My son's camp is set up to be a drama camp (his passion is theater and music) and my daughter will have the traditional camp experience. This is their first time away with out an adult they know around every day. Actually it's my daughter's first camp experience other than the one nighters we have done as a family.

The weather is brutal, 95F and humid so I am a little worried. My kids are use to the air conditioning, private bathroom, television, play station life. Granted, they only get an hour or two of TV a week, but let's face it, they have it pretty easy. Well I'm sure my lecturing will have done some good! (HA!! THAT"S A LAUGH)

So time for steaks before we leave!

I hope they make friends and learn a lot-- well not too much! My son came back from Boy Scout camp with a new song. He learned the song A Pirates Life for Me. It was good until I heard him sing...

When I was eight,
I'd masturbate,
Before I went to sea
I climbed aboard the pirate ship the captain said to me
Oh go this way that way for ward back ward over around the sea
A bottle of Coke to soothe my throat
A Pirate's life for me
La da de de La da de de La da de de de de!


I probably would have gotten more out of camp than my own, well adjusted, middle class kids will get this week. But hey-- we give our kids what we never had and a camp experience-- for better or worse-- is one of those things.