Tired...But Loved It!

I'm soooo tired, but am so glad that I went to camp with these kids. It really made me miss a part of me that I didn't realize I was missing.  (although it wasn't enough to make me want a summer job...just yet.) 

It was so fun to see the kids in a different light than at school.  We did lots of hiking, beach combing, sea anemone touching, and playing games.  It rained almost the whole first day, was windy the next and then super sunny the next.  I came home with a full load of dirty, stinky, clothes!  And thank goodness that I packed all the clothes that I did, because I was changing many times over to make sure I was dry, warm, and not stinky.

Before I left, I attended a meeting with parent and teachers that were going to camp.  There were many questions being asked by parents and one of them was, "Can students call home if they get homesick?"
In my head, I shouted, "Oh hell no! They are gone three days (with only 1 being a day that they don't see their parent.)"
But what I heard was, "Of course they can call if they miss home!"
And I thought, Oh no!  Not on my watch.
I confronted both male 6th grade teachers after the parents left and they said they didn't want any crying at camp, so they let them call.  I told them, that I thought it would just get worse if they let the kids call home.  They kind of just looked at me.
And needless to say there was a boy not even 4 hours in, who missed home and they let him call...he was on the phone for a good 10-15 min in tears telling his parents that he couldn't take it at camp and he missed them.  I was done about 2 min. into the call and went to tell the kid's teacher, the phone call needed to end and that kid either needed to suck it up or have mom and dad come get him. The phone call was ended and shortly there after and they made a deal with the kid that he could be in his best friends group and miraculously there was no more tears...the boy got so much better that he was up on stage every chance he could get hamming it up.  Such a manipulator!
I never made a phone call home during the 15 years I attended or worked at camp, but my mom made a phone call to me on Monday...

She is so super cute!