Yesterday, I told you about Man Cave and Friendship Circle.  Today, Susie Ma’am pulled me aside and shared some conversations about a particularly fun Friendship Circle.

For whatever reason, the topic of parents came up.  The girls then started to compare how their families operate.

“Mom is in charge.  You don’t have to ask me – that’s what dad says too!” Several echoed this view.

“They both have areas that they think is important, so it is a good idea to ask the right parent the right question.  My mom is really focused on diet, so dad is the go-to guy on ice cream.  But dad loves sports, so mom is the person to talk to if I want to miss a practice.”

BTW, no one reported that the father was “in charge”.

At one point, Susie Ma’am asked,  “If one parent says ‘no’, do you ever try to ask the second parent as if you never got the ‘no’?”  “Yea, but that is a dangerous game.  You get caught and it does not go so well.”

“Our house is pretty laid back . . . except every now and then mom gets kinda easily frustrated.  When this happens, daddy just says ‘just do what your mother says’.  In fact, it seems to happen every 3-4 weeks and lasts for a couple of days.”

[Note: Susie Ma’am found it hard not to giggle at this one.  She also resisted any discussion of hormones.  Nothing is gained in that conversation!]

The final comment was on the confusing nature of parents:

“You know what drives me crazy?  I ask mom and she says ‘ask your father’.  He tells me to ‘ask your mother’.  How in the world can I get anything done if they don’t know what they want?!?   I don’t know how to be a kid sometimes.”

On the Man Cave side, I continue to be delighted with the insight and positivity of our Lego exercise.  Here are a few samples from these talks.  The first are from the 6^th – 8^th graders:

“Our cabin is like this wall of Legos.  Each piece is a different shape with different colors.  But look – they all fit together perfectly.  And when they are together like that, it is taller and stronger than any single piece!”

“The activities are great and all – especially the Pirate Ship – but my favorite part of camp are my friends.”

“Our cabin is like this model.  [note: the model has a group of campers around a weird, tall object that is part flag, part torch, part bush and all weird”. Out side the circle are two skeleton Lego figures.]  When we come together, we keep away the skeletons of homesickness and fighting.  Also, when we are really together, something weird and cool that is hard to describe happens – camp.  The sculpture is camp – lots of fun and hard to describe.”

For the younger campers, I ask them to build their favorite part of camp.  I get lots of water toys, Pirate Ships, pools, and torchlights, but I also get a few surprising answers:

“I like flag raising in the morning.  It starts the day great and we get the day going with a laugh.”

“Cabin time is the best.  I made of model of Man Cave because it is cabin time, but with slushees.”

“My favorite is inspection.”

Yes, you read that.  I have NEVER heard that, but three campers from one cabin said the same thing.  Their counselors love making themed inspections, including a dungeon, a casino, a castle and a sporting event.  Every camper gets a role and they stay in character throughout inspection.  I have never seen inspection taken to this level, but it made me smile.

We are at the halfway point for many of our campers and I hate the thought of losing them.  But I am so deeply appreciative of what each of them brings to his (and her) cabin!

Steve Sir