Scout Camp- Day 1

In the beginning, there was chaos. And that was before we even got to camp.

A couple of other parents and I agreed to meet up at a local bakery before heading out. One of the parents forgot the all important medical forms. So instead of getting to camp nice and early, we got there closer to the same time everyone else did. That wasn’t the end of the medical form nonsense though.

One of the boys (not “the boy”- one of those unfortunate moments where my convention leads to confusion) we were with didn’t have a signed consent form from his doctor, so he wasn’t going to be allowed to participate in the swim time. To his credit, he handled the situation well and only chose to ask me if he would be able to swim every 20 minutes or so. Ultimately, parents and doctors were called, papers signed and faxed, the world kept spinning, and he was able to go swimming.

I mean really, if I could handle that then a debt deal should easily be within reach.

For me, the day consisted of chaperoning 10 six and seven year olds from one activity to the next. Those activities consisted of music, fishing, BB gun shooting, archery, swimming, and a nature hike. Throw in a little lunch and we’ll call it a day.

For the boy, the day consisted of making a mandolin; learning a new way to cast a line with bonus lessons in sun screen usage, dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat stroke and hypothermia; shooting BB’s at a jug of water with the bonus of learning shooting range etiquette; archery range etiquette without actually shooting any arrows; swimming and a hike with mild green movement indoctrination. My money is on the nature dude ending his third week of camp (this is week 1) a stark raving lunatic screaming about conservation, ecosystems and dominoes. Too bad I won’t be there to see it.

For the lass, the day consisted of planting flowers, painting, playing, drawing with chalk and splashing in a little pool with about 10 inches of water in it. I asked her how she liked swimming. I wish I could have taken a picture of her face at that moment- she’s long since past the time where 10 inches of water in a little pool was fun. But she had another girl her age to pal around with and that made the day worthwhile for her. She’s even looking forward to tomorrow.

The day ended with me giving another parent a jump start. That led to lots of questions about whether our car would still work, how the other car would start, what the cables are called, why they’re called “jumper cables,” why the other car wouldn’t start in the first place, etc. Apparently a full day at camp wasn’t enough to blunt their natural question-asking abilities.

The boy is looking forward to tomorrow. He wants to shoot some arrows as well as the BB guns. He had a homework assignment to find out what “BB” is short for. Don’t ask me, that’s what Google is for, although my first guess would be ‘ball bearing.’ He also wants to really go fishing, instead of just trying to cast a wooden plug into a hoola hoop. In some ways, that’s what being 7 is about. So much to do and learn, but not enough time to do it all. At least, as far as he’s concerned.