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Monday, July 14, 2008
ok, so this is so pitiful.
Yesterday I drove a little over three hours each way in a borrowed van to drop off eight boys ages 12-16 at Scout camp. You know, I have to wonder: why don't they put Scout camps in nice, accessible places? I mean, come on, I live in the mountains and have for my whole life; I know that there are plenty of private, secluded places that aren't separated from civilization by twenty or thirty miles of harrowing, mostly-single-lane switchbacks going down cliffs into a ravine to a river and then back up the other side. It was funny, actually, because when my brother recruited me to do the driving -- out of desperation, mind you, since the person who was going to drive was ill and T had a prior commitment -- I made a rawther large stink about how I would prefer not to go via this one locally notorious bendy grade, but wanted to take the very slightly longer but much straighter (and more scenic, because the bendy grade is also very ugly, in a scrub-brush-and-bare-dirt kind of way) route through the valley. And then the last hour of the trip, unavoidable no matter what route we took, was like something you'd see in a cartoon involving a camp trailer and Daisy Duck, much more nerve-wracking and nausea-inducing (which turned out not to be an issue for any of the boys in my care, praise the Lord) than anything little old Bagby Grade could dish out. My brother was highly amused at the irony of the situation, I assure you.
Really, the drive was fun and interesting and the vanload of boys were pleasantly conversant in all kinds of topics ranging from film adaptations of books to the absence of transitional forms in the fossil record to the cyclical nature of global climate change. On the way back I was by myself, and I listened to three hours of Elizabeth Von Arnim's The Enchanted April (excellent Librivox recording here), which made the time go faster, but didn't alleviate the sadness of the fact that my boy is going to be gone for an entire week. I've been mentally preparing myself for this for months. I'm mostly past worrying that he'll be excluded by the other boys and have a terrible time (this is my own issues talking, mostly, and I realize that), and I'm OK with the fact that he'll probably get homesick at first because this is just something that people have to go through sometime, and I've never been really concerned that he'll get lost or anything frightening like that, because he's very cautious and deliberate by nature. Now I'm just faced with the reality of his absence for seven long days. This may sound silly (after all, hello, he's TWELVE; he's not exactly a needy little preschooler), but he's never been away from home for more than two nights, and we're all feeling it. He had better brace himself for a substantial onslaught of hugs when he gets home whether he wants them or not.
Comments
He's HOW OLD? Yikes!
Of COURSE you miss him and worry -- who wouldn't? Can't wait to hear how he enjoyed his excursion!
Posted by: mary at July 14, 2008 10:45 AM
That's not pitiful at all - I was so weepy at the idea of my nine year old going away for a week to a summer camp TWENTY MINUTES AWAY that I didn't let her go. Because I am lame.
Posted by: Beck at July 15, 2008 06:14 AM
Wow, I feel totally neglected. My mom couldn't wait to get me out of the house. Summers at dad's, week long girl scout trips. Of course I wasn't nearly as sweet and well-behaved as LT. Sigh.
Posted by: jenn at July 15, 2008 12:40 PM
12 or not - I'd be the same way!! Hope it somehow goes by fast for you and that he has a great (but not too great :) time!! Love you!
Posted by: Susan at July 16, 2008 08:51 AM
