Back from AOL Camp (Arrow of Light, not America Online)
GK Chesterton once wrote, "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered."
It was a very adventurous few days at camp.
This was the younger cub's first time at summer camp, with the whole summer camp experience. He's been camping plenty of times, but never quite in this fashion. The differences in how you pack and what to expect stressed him out the day before and the day we left. I asked about his prescription about halfway to camp and he'd forgotten it on the counter, so we had to go back for it. Not the best start.
Still, he had fun splashing around while I attempted a swim test. I had all the necessary technique for swimming, but my stamina crapped out early and I only managed a Beginner tag. Something to work on. The rest of check in went alright. He got to find out the ins and outs of canvas platform tents, which have been upgraded with velcro since the last time I camped in one.
The rest of the packs in our site were friendly, with many experienced parents. I was soloing James for the weekend- just him and me to represent our pack- so the additional adults and kids were a God-send.
The first night was rough. Throughout the camp, the temperatures were about 10 degrees cooler than predicted. That first night, I couldn't sleep from the cold in spite of packing two summer-weight sleeping bags I could layer. The cots in the tent let the cold right into me from underneath and I just couldn't tough it out like I could when I was a teen. About halfway through the night, the stress of the first day caught up to James with some intestinal distress, too. We were up and dealing with finding clean clothes and such for a while. It got bad enough that I woke up the medical officer at the health lodge to get James something to settle his digestive tract down. Fortunately, she was friendly and had just the thing- immodium and gatorade. We got back to camp and stayed up another twenty minutes to make sure it took, and all turned out well the rest of the night. What little was left. It was about 4 in the morning when I finally got to bed, with an alarm for 7 waiting for me.
But still.
I heard owls in the night, one very close by. I saw lightning bugs flashing in the grass and undergrowth when trudging to the latrines. I spotted either a coyote or wild dog briefly- a smear of pale coat in a lean dog shape with a bushy tail- but I had my glasses off so I didn't catch much detail. Soon after, there were howls in the night as they called back and forth. A raccoon watched me walk to the latrines at one point, then ran off with some trash. James and I picked up what was scattered about when we came back from the health lodge.
The stars were bright that first night. It was truly an adventure, not merely a misery.
And Brian came to our rescue the next day, bringing up additional bedding items to keep us warm and some extra clean clothes for James. We handled the rain that came at us all that day fairly well, finally retiring to the campsite when James was tired and his feet started to hurt from the walking and the constant soaking. He took off his sodden sneakers and wore crocs around camp, getting his feet dry enough to manage a bit of the evening program, but we headed back from that early, too.
The pace of cub camp is blistering. I long for the relaxed pace of troop camp.
But we got through it, as much as we could stand. There was some whining- I had the realization that cheerfulness, that all-important Scout virtue, is as much a developmental attribute as a discipline. James is still too young to easily let go of present troubles in favor of whatever bright side or future joy may be in the offing. That insight made it easier for me to endure the complaints while he got the grumbles over disappointments out of his system. He bounced back in the end, that's what's important. By the last morning, even limping, he said he kind of didn't want to leave.
I am beat to a frappe, but I'm glad he enjoyed the weekend. I had fun, too. Some of the other parents in camp had kids with similar challenges and we got to stay up too late in the evening comparing notes and commiserating. It's always a joy to get outdoors. I bought a hot spark for myself and got to play around with it. I played cards with James and some of the other campers. I got far too little sleep, but there's time to amend that now that I'm home.
For now, it's time for laundry and catching up on correspondence, but I'm hopeful James will continue to really enjoy Scouts even as we get into the more intense experiences once he bridges over. He's passed through the fire a little stronger, and that's the best I could have hoped for.
It was a very adventurous few days at camp.
This was the younger cub's first time at summer camp, with the whole summer camp experience. He's been camping plenty of times, but never quite in this fashion. The differences in how you pack and what to expect stressed him out the day before and the day we left. I asked about his prescription about halfway to camp and he'd forgotten it on the counter, so we had to go back for it. Not the best start.
Still, he had fun splashing around while I attempted a swim test. I had all the necessary technique for swimming, but my stamina crapped out early and I only managed a Beginner tag. Something to work on. The rest of check in went alright. He got to find out the ins and outs of canvas platform tents, which have been upgraded with velcro since the last time I camped in one.
The rest of the packs in our site were friendly, with many experienced parents. I was soloing James for the weekend- just him and me to represent our pack- so the additional adults and kids were a God-send.
The first night was rough. Throughout the camp, the temperatures were about 10 degrees cooler than predicted. That first night, I couldn't sleep from the cold in spite of packing two summer-weight sleeping bags I could layer. The cots in the tent let the cold right into me from underneath and I just couldn't tough it out like I could when I was a teen. About halfway through the night, the stress of the first day caught up to James with some intestinal distress, too. We were up and dealing with finding clean clothes and such for a while. It got bad enough that I woke up the medical officer at the health lodge to get James something to settle his digestive tract down. Fortunately, she was friendly and had just the thing- immodium and gatorade. We got back to camp and stayed up another twenty minutes to make sure it took, and all turned out well the rest of the night. What little was left. It was about 4 in the morning when I finally got to bed, with an alarm for 7 waiting for me.
But still.
I heard owls in the night, one very close by. I saw lightning bugs flashing in the grass and undergrowth when trudging to the latrines. I spotted either a coyote or wild dog briefly- a smear of pale coat in a lean dog shape with a bushy tail- but I had my glasses off so I didn't catch much detail. Soon after, there were howls in the night as they called back and forth. A raccoon watched me walk to the latrines at one point, then ran off with some trash. James and I picked up what was scattered about when we came back from the health lodge.
The stars were bright that first night. It was truly an adventure, not merely a misery.
And Brian came to our rescue the next day, bringing up additional bedding items to keep us warm and some extra clean clothes for James. We handled the rain that came at us all that day fairly well, finally retiring to the campsite when James was tired and his feet started to hurt from the walking and the constant soaking. He took off his sodden sneakers and wore crocs around camp, getting his feet dry enough to manage a bit of the evening program, but we headed back from that early, too.
The pace of cub camp is blistering. I long for the relaxed pace of troop camp.
But we got through it, as much as we could stand. There was some whining- I had the realization that cheerfulness, that all-important Scout virtue, is as much a developmental attribute as a discipline. James is still too young to easily let go of present troubles in favor of whatever bright side or future joy may be in the offing. That insight made it easier for me to endure the complaints while he got the grumbles over disappointments out of his system. He bounced back in the end, that's what's important. By the last morning, even limping, he said he kind of didn't want to leave.
I am beat to a frappe, but I'm glad he enjoyed the weekend. I had fun, too. Some of the other parents in camp had kids with similar challenges and we got to stay up too late in the evening comparing notes and commiserating. It's always a joy to get outdoors. I bought a hot spark for myself and got to play around with it. I played cards with James and some of the other campers. I got far too little sleep, but there's time to amend that now that I'm home.
For now, it's time for laundry and catching up on correspondence, but I'm hopeful James will continue to really enjoy Scouts even as we get into the more intense experiences once he bridges over. He's passed through the fire a little stronger, and that's the best I could have hoped for.