Scout Camp

McKay left for Scout Camp on Monday morning at 4:30am.  I kept thinking as Craig was driving him to the church, what an unusual blessing it is to move into a brand new ward in a city where we know absolutely no one, and yet feel entirely comfortable sending our 12-yr-old off to Scout Camp 90 miles away with boys and adults we barely know.  (Let me just clarify that I don't actually know any of the boys or the adults at all...like I wouldn't recognize them if I passed them in the grocery store, which hopefully I won't this week because they should all be at Scout Camp.  Craig is the entirely comfortable one.  I had to pray some mighty prayers on Sunday night and Monday morning to even pretend to be comfortable and happy as they walked out the door.)  

This tiny little Boy Scout troop is a far cry from the one McKay went to Scout Camp with last year when his dad was the Scout Master and he texted me a report every night and I worried a whole lot less.  

The leaders here asked Craig to help chaperone at the camp overnight on Tuesday which I was totally relieved about.  He came home with at least a few details and a pretty good, experienced point of view about the camp and the leaders so I wouldn't worry as much.  I've still been worried anyway.  McKay is apparently having the time of his life.  He talked the leaders into letting him sleep in his hammock instead of his tent.  He decided in his free time to make a super thick rope out of the little stringy things he pulled off a a dead tree trunk.  He's doing the mile swim and the wilderness survival night (I'm not super excited about that one...) and apparently at dinner on Tuesday night, he made a beeline for the salad bar and filled a giant plate with a mountain of salad.  That's not surprising.  He would pick vegetables and fruit over any other food most days. 

Hundreds of other boys are at this scout camp.  Hundreds of other 12-yr-olds have gone to Scout Camp in the history of scouting.  McKay's Scout Master used to work at this particular camp for 5 years before he became the Scout Master for this little troop.  He's a knowledgeable and an attentive leader.  And a small troop means more individual attention and fewer opportunities to wander off or get in trouble...my friend, Amy, had to remind me of that little benefit.  There are tons of reasons to be thrilled about this opportunity for McKay and to be grateful that we moved here in time for him to participate in it.  

But for the next 2 1/2 days, I might be wandering off into my room to have a few more of those hearty prayers and I might be the most excited mom to see that scout van pull into the parking lot on Saturday morning.  I kind of don't even mind one bit that they're planning to pack up and leave before breakfast and be back early on Saturday morning.  A whole week is a long time to be away from your 12-yr-old...