Well, we enjoyed another weekend camping with our Cub Scout pack. I include myself because Camp Coleman is only about five minutes from my house and I made a few trips to bring food and pick up bikes, etc and I did all the shopping and preparation for Saturday's lunch. E really wanted to camp too, so us girls "camped" in the living room in a tent. We ate oven-toasted marshmallows and chips, just like the boys did. I slept in my own bed though. M and the boys rode their bikes to camp on Friday and I came later in the van so M could get home and bring their camping gear in the Honda.
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| Commuting to Camp |
Our pack camps four times a year, once for each season. It is always risky in the fall and spring because we have to pick something close (we have a lot of soccer and baseball players) and it almost always rains. The weather was great Friday and Sunday-not too great Saturday.
Camp Coleman has all sorts of fun activities, but the boys mostly played Jackpot (a football throwing game), Gaga Ball (a safe version of dodge ball), and rode their bikes. The boys did get to climb this awesome climbing tower:
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| IJ on the Top |
IJ was the ONLY kid, siblings included, that got to the top. Those kids played and played and played and never noticed the rain. One would think that after playing all weekend, the kids would be tired and ready to drop. But my kids are still outside, climbing trees and riding bikes and who knows what else!
Our pack has doubled since we moved here. This has made our camping trips a little more complicated. Our claim to fame is being a "family pack." Siblings are always included in activities and everyone in the family is welcome to come camp with us (we had about 80 people this weekend). One thing always happens: the families bond. You can't spend 48 hours standing around a camp fire in the rain without getting real and getting to know the families you scout with. No one can fake their reputation that long (it doesn't take long for people to learn that I'm not the perfect homeschooling, skirt-wearing, mom of many that can do it all that they think I am)! You get to know their parenting style, the kids behaviors and oddities, their likes and dislikes, and just stuff about their lives. You listen to the single dad talk about his divorce. You know how married couples met and what their wedding was like. You feel free to discipline/correct other people's children. You know which kid is the "drama queen" and to ignore him when he falls off his bike. You know who is allergic to what. You do this for a few years and then when a family has to leave because the grandfather has a heart attack or you find out their friend has cancer, you worry and grieve right there with them. Although there are so many different kinds of people in our pack (and I don't get along with or even like some of them), when the weekend is over, I just feel like we as a pack are really experiencing The Pack Feeling.
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| The Bears |
When we meet back up on Thursday for our den or pack meeting, there is a connection between the people that camped. So that is why I like Cub Scouts more than I dislike it. And probably why M was able to convince me to fill the position of Committee Chair for the next two years.
