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| She could of at least tried to look a little sad at leaving, nay, abandoning me! |
A nearby homeschooling friend who she mostly chats to online, invited her along just before Christmas. TF was rather interested and showed us the details and we agreed she could go. It's $210 but we thought considering that it's 7 nights and days with meals and lots of fun activities (paint ball, swimming pool and beach, camp fires, flying fox, BMX bikes, archery, air rifles) that it was pretty good value.
Agent Smelly is also old enough to attend but as AS still falls asleep in the car on the way home from Guide Camps, which only go for the weekend, we thought it might be a bit much for her. We discussed it with her and she agreed that she really only wanted to go for one or two nights so we suggested she wait for another year or two.
Unfortunately when we tried to book the camp, we were told it was full but TF was first on the waiting list for girls in her age bracket. I heard from Miss E's mama this week, that Miss E had told her that she felt bad because she was praying that someone would cancel or drop out so that TF could go but it meant someone else would be disappointed. She even had a sticky note attached to their home computer screen saying Pray TF can get a space on camp. The whole family apparently were quite aware of Miss E's desperation to get TF to attend with her.
Well of course she did get accepted a week or so ago and then the excited emails arrived daily from Miss E (I can't wait until camp, only x many more days until we are on camp, etc) which kept us all in fits of laughter leading up to the camp.
So anyway as I said, I dropped TF off at camp yesterday, which is just over an hour away. She was so very excited and happy to be there and I was kind of being brave and being happy for her (despite her abandoning me ... yes she reads these) but also a little sad for me cause I am going to miss her (feeling guilty yet baby girl?).
This is the view from her bedroom window people. She's on the top bunk, right beside Miss E, and so this is what she sees looking out her window from her actual bed! It's How hard will it be waking up to that everyday. This beach is a "surfing mecca for wave riders, with three world-class point breaks". One of the bays is said to "offer the longest left hand rides on the planet".
The following photos I took whilst on my way back into the nearby township, parked up at the one way bridge waiting for out turn. The camp is 6km out of town.
Well there's always next week when I pick her up ...
WOW - that VIEW!!!
ReplyDeleteMy 11 yr old is off trekking the coastal hills in gale force winter winds with Scouts this weekend (she's the only girl). (Just shopping & packing for the trip exhausted me - as soon as I waved her goodbye I got into my pjs and went to bed - at 7pm!) We are very close but she has never been homesick in her life. I've learned not to take it personally. :-D I hope camp lives up to Miss E and The Fashionista's high expectations!
I know what you mean. We realised that TF needed new shorts etc. for the camp so it's never quite so simple or cheap. Your Miss 11's trip sounds awesome except for the winds which would freak me out big time! We are quite adept at getting ready for camps now, we even have camp boxes set up to go in the garage.
DeleteTF sounds your Miss 11, we are close but she never gets homesick on her camps either. I am actually quite proud of this as she was UBER clingy and stressful if I was out of her site when she was younger. This is the first time she has ever been away me for a week, I think the longest she has ever been away from me is 3 days; so I am enjoying teasing her for DUMPING me to go off with peeps her own age and have fun without me ... seriously what's that about ... so selfish!!!! ;)
Kids always love adventure it's the moms who end up feeling 'abandoned'. My twins turn nine soon and they still haven't gone to a camp or a night out other than at a relatives place. Soon maybe we'll give it a shot.
ReplyDeleteI took GirlGuides for many years and it was always the parents that were worried their children wouldn't last away from home. In 7 years I never had to get a mum to come get their child in fact the younger the children were, the less worried they were, or we wore them out so much during the day that were exhausted when their heads hit the pillows ... lol.
DeleteMy girls never even had a stay over at a relatives place until they were about 7 and 9 (my family is overseas in OZ) and because I was a leader whenever they went on camp I was there with them. It's only been the last couple of years that they have started to branch out ... and I have to say I kind of love it.