There were definitely points in the week, especially following tent night, where I felt a little worn. I don't remember another time in my adult life where for a week I was in bed before 10 so many times. I think part of this had to do with the lack of watch. Once the kids settled in between 9:15 and 9:30 the place was dark and quiet. With how active you have to be all day long, there is little else you need to convince you to also lie down.
Wednesday progressed as most of the other days. We woke up, had our morning song, breakfast, mass, and then rotations. Something I have neglected to bring up to you until now is the two "problem" campers. Somehow I got lucky enough to interact with both. We had one boy and one girl camper who, more than the typical homesick kid, wanted to leave. The boy was not participating pretty quickly. The first day of the waterway, Monday, I spent the first portion on the beach trying to convince him to come in. It was a lost cause for that day as he had worn jeans in protest of the activity. I was just trying to engage him in hopes that maybe tomorrow he would come in a bathing suit. By Tuesday he was getting more vocal about wanting to go home. He was living in Swamp Right, where the only counselor was myself. His bunk was right above mine. I am not sure why, but even though he was not in my group, and for a large part of the day I did not interact with him, Father Tim told this boy that it was my call about keeping him here or obliging and sending him home. I was determined to turn his week around and make him happy to be there.
Wednesday morning he had explicity told me and some of the other boys that he was going to leave his bunk and bags a mess so as to prevent the other boys from getting the bonus they qualify for. Every day the "secret inspector" checks out each wing of each dorm. The cleanest wing wins a prize for all of its memebers. These means beds made, clothes away, bathrooms tidy, etc. It's not boot camp, but it shouldn't be unlivable either. This system is a way of keeping that in check. Well, my boys of Swamp Right were really into the bonus and made sure to keep their side of the dorm in perfect condition without me having to say a word. This boy, however, decided that he was so upset about being forced to stay that he would mess with the other campers. That is when I drew the line. I decided that despite my efforts, I was not going to have him affecting the rest of the kids because he was unhappy. I took off my first rotation that day and spoke with Father Tim. We went and got this boy and called his family with him present. Father Tim spoke with his mother and explained the situation, expressing his desire to keep the boy and turn his week around. His mother agreed but when we delivered this news, he refused to speak, look at us, or react in anyway. To benefit the max we convinced his mother to come pick him up. Father Tim explained that it was unfair to the boys and his counselor to have to cater to him. So on Wednesday we lost a boy.
All week long, a girl in my group was equally displeased with camp. She slept less than 2 hours the first night, dressed herself and sat up in bed until morning. On tent night, she stood up in the middle of the tent all night, still standing when the campers awoke. In addition, she would frequently cry in the middle of activities about being homesick. Only once did she come across as pleasant and that was an hour after getting to call home. She was 11, the oldest you can be in this week, and had been the previous year. Regardless, she was miserable. It was worse that she upset another girl in my group every time she would cry. Often times, this one girl would start balling and then the other girl in my group would to as a reaction to it. When they were apart, the younger girl was fine. So Wednesday, after dinner, and she also went home.
Wednesday was not a loss at all however. As sad as it was to see two campers I was involved with go home it also made things much easier. Sometimes things just aren't going to work out. Wednesday was another day of capture the flag. This day we were up against The Underdogs. They had some scrappy players, but we won by a narrow margin. Arts and crafts was a bit hectic. This would be the last day of normal Arts and Crafts. Tomorrow (thursday) we would be making our camp tie dye shirts. I hurriedly finished my pillow and then had all the campers in Arts and Crafts that day sign it for me. It's my favorite thing I have from the trip.
Before lunch that day we played a massive game of Simon Says on Field A. All week I had been wearing sleeveless shirts but I definitely recall feeling my shoulders during that game and in Rec. Sure enough, by the time we reached the waterway my shoulders were bright red. I put on a ton of sun screen but the damage was done. I was to be burnt the rest of the week. The boys thought it was a lot of fun to torture me and hang on my shoulders that day and the rest of the week.
At the waterway, Sergio - one of the CTs, mentioned to the kids that there would be a dance on Friday. This was the beginning of the end. For the next two days, at any given time, someone was talking about who they were asking to the dance. How much did it end up mattering - almost not at all. Only a few of the boys actually danced one on one with another girl. I mean they're 9-11 years old. Some of the boys actually got so upset by the apparent pressure that they didn't want to go at all. The damage had been done. All the campers wanted to do was talk about who they would ask, and who the counselors would go with. So much drama!
Wednesday was a day we knew about in advance. Why? Because Wednesday was that day that some of those nice people we met at mass on Sunday would come to the camp and cook all day. Dinner on Wednesday was an event. Dinner was fried food. We had fried chicken, french fries, fried zucchini and fried okra. It was absolutely amazing. It was the most legitimate Southern meal I have eaten and I have never enjoyed fried food quiet like I did that day. I had never even had okra before but I didn't hesitate one second before chowing down. Tonight was also parents night. Parents who were local enough or who wanted could come see their kids. For many of these kids, this is the longest they have ever been from home. At 8 and 9 years old, that isn't easy on them. So, after dinner, we walked around and met some of our kids parents. This was a pretty cool event too. Many of them brought their families and you got to see a glimpse of their home lives.
The night before (Tuesday) the campers were told that just like their counselors did on Monday, they too would have a skit night. Wednesday night after dinner we all broke off and worked on our individual skits. My kids loved the American Idol rendition and decided they would all do camp songs. The final decision was to have them all do the same camp song, each with their own spin on it. The judges would continue to mock but comment on how original the song was despite it being the same thing four times in a row. It was tough to get a few of them to loosen up to it, but surprisingly, most of them went at it - singing or filling their roll as a rude judge. It was a lot of fun.
Finally, the night would end with the camp fire. This should have been a lot more fun than it was. We all gathered around the camp fire and we were told that if you wanted to tell a scary story, tale, or joke, you should raise your hand. When it was your turn you would stand up in the middle of the circle and tell it. To keep form things getting out of hand, no one else was allowed to speak. After each story, there was no cheering or clapping. Even at jokes, there was no laughing. I am not sure what the point of all of this was. Patti really killed what should have been the most enjoyable night for the campers. If someone was to tell you that you were going to have a night around the camp fire, I would imagine you would have different expectations than how ours turned out to be. I walked back to the dorms a bit annoyed at how things played out.
It was once again tent night for Toad Camp J. Due to the poor weather the night prior, Tim was back on the floor for Pinocchio. Tonight I was back on duty and it was great. I really think this activity was one of my favorite aspects of the week.
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