Weekend after next is the annual Mom'n Me weekend for the Girl Scout Shoreline Service Unit. Scouts and moms go for a weekend at a local girl scout camp. Ilana (and Naomi and I) have been going since Ilana was in second grade (she's now 21). Ilana's helped plan the event since she was in junior high and directed it for her senior project in high school. She's highly invested in Mom'n Me. Last year, she helped run the kitchen, Dennis worked all weekend and I worked on Saturday in that kitchen.
The year she was Event Director, it was at Camp River Ranch, the local camp. It rained the entire time but it didn't seem to matter. The usual catastrophes, on Saturday night, the cook got short-handed, a local dad who had cooked in the military. The calculation went as follows.
IF you were related to the camp director (that would be Naomi and us)
THEN you were working in the kitchen
So Dennis, Naomi and I were in the kitchen frantically putting out that spaghetti dinner for several hundred people.
The year before she was Director, a local dad directed. He had managed to get somebody to come from Eastern Washington who had Oxen. Real Oxen. That you could brush and interact with. A western theme. With Oxen. Ilana worried. How HOW could you ever follow Oxen? Gotta admit, the oxen were cool.
(aside)Um, what exactly is an oxen? Turns out that an oxen is just a cow that has been trained to work. Bet you didn't know that. I looked it up, in fact, I found a file that had authentic Oxen noises. But I couldn't play it. I whined at Dennis, c'mon I wanna hear the oxen. In one of his finest computer moments, he got his online address book all mixed up with the oxen noises file and ended up mistakenly posting the oxen noises to a forum for people recovering from Parkinson's Disease. Whatever, no comment.
When Ilana was much younger, her leader Bronsa directed. She ALWAYS made sure that I was assigned to an outdoor unit, the farthest possible from the main camp. She wanted to toughen me up.
One of the first years they featured a charades sort of game "Bizarre, Bizarre" in the evening.. Don't know how they did it but it was so hilarious I was doubled up in laughter the whole time. Everybody remembers that evening, it was SO funny. For several years, Ilana and I tried to duplicate that "Bizarre, Bizarre" evening. We never quite made it that funny but she did put on some good programs.
One thing she learned is that you cannot put on a program in the lodge at Lyle Mcleod because the acoustics are so so dreadful.
For years, Naomi has attended. She's been considered 'the extra hand' to be ordered around. As in "Nemo, c'mere, I need somebody to do this" She's enjoyed this role.
I'm a lousy girl scout mom. I never want to go. I complain and invent reasons why I'm not going. It's cold, it's wet, it's dark, I don't like sleeping in a sleeping bag. I want to use a real bathroom. I've got a million reasons. But every year, I have a good time. But a whiner and slacker.
This year, Naomi is nearly 18. I don't have to go, right? Besides, it's at Camp Lyle Mcleod. On unmarked dirt roads in the middle of NOWHERE. I hate those roads (here me whine and complain). I've hit those roads in the dark and I was SURE, just SURE that I was never going to come out alive. I would be lost on those dark dark roads forever, they would never find me. Cell phone, FORGET IT, not out there. I am NEVER coming out here again NEVER!
But Ilana really wants to go. And she wants me to go. So it's another mom/daughters thing. She's willing to only go up for the day if I want, though she really would like to stay for the whole thing. But, truly, I'm mom'n me baggage. I don't really contribute anything, thought I'm willing to lend a hand where needed. I'm not going to design and implement a crafts station, I'm not going to run canoeing. They don't need help in the kitchen. I insist on an indoor place to sleep. Can I be done with this?
I've learned from writing this entry that, secretly, I've enjoyed Mom'n me despite my kvetching. It really is fun. The theme this year is, I don't know but it's "Pink camo, ball gown optional" Some kind of princess thing.
I guess I'm going. Every year I come out alive.
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