There’s something about all that sun and water that makes children grow like weeds over the summer; I swear I can see William sprouting before my eyes.##M:[more]## Mornings I look at Molly and ask, so how much did you grow last night? I will shortly, no pun intended, be the shortest person in my family.
But this isn’t a discussion about growth in vertical terms. I’m talking about the kind of growth that takes place in the head and the heart that comes from experiences that test your personal boundaries and stretch the horizon.
Katie called home from Nevis yesterday, one of the ports of call in the Caribbean where she’s spending three weeks with 11 other teenagers learning how to sail, jet ski, and scuba dive. Molly came home excited about getting the lead in this week’s production of Aida at the Green Apple Theatre Camp at the Peddie School. Exciting adventures, yes, but I’m happy to report that I’ve had a growth experience of my own, which illustrates that growth opportunities are open to any one at any stage of life, as long as you are open to them.
I had enrolled William in Cub Scout Camp, one-week, five days, six and a half hours a day. Frankly, I had signed him up relishing the thought of a few hours of freedom. Then came the call informing me that because he was a newly enrolled Tiger Scout, I would have to “volunteer” to be a den leader. Cathy Branchek and I would co-lead a 12-member den of six and-seven-year-old-boys. Jolly good fun, yeah, right, I thought.
My brother was an Eagle Scout and I’d been a Girl Scout, but I’d never considered being a scout leader. I agreed to do it, in part because I had to, and in part, because I could, which is why I do a lot of things at this point in life. Someday soon I may be back at work and I wouldn’t be able to be there, and someday soon, my son might not want me to be there.
It was my first experience with the Boy Scouts and I was impressed at how organized and together everyone was. First, there was the online Youth Protection Training Course, mandatory for anyone who was going to work at the camp. There was the first round of training at the council headquarters on Route 1, followed by an onsite meeting at the campground at the Princeton Country Club.
I was a bit skeptical on my first look around. Such an unassuming setting was going to be home base for dozens of energetic Energizer Bunny-type boys and would keep them happily occupied for the better course of a day? And the only source of amusement in sight, a playground, was going to be off-limits during camp? Whatever would we do and however would we maintain our sanity?
Loaded up with bug spray and sunscreen, William and I showed up for what would be one of the best weeks we’ve ever spent together. We got our first indication of the general tone and energy level of the week with the welcome from camp director Alison Snieckus, a red-haired fun-loving Energizer Bunny-type herself and mother of two boy scouts, middle-school-aged Teddy and high-school-aged Kurt, who, along with their buddies, were also on hand all week to help with the younger scouts. Each day began with a flag ceremony, the responsibility rotated around each den, with even the youngest entrusted with the task of raising the colors safely. Program director Debi Vivona, mother of three with yet another due on Labor Day, circulated with grace and aplomb, seemingly unfazed by the humidity. Every day was a new learning experience with the scouts moving from one station to another, earning a bead for each new skill and activity. There was archery every day. At the start of the week William didn’t know how to hold a bow. By the end of the week he had landed four out of six arrows on the target. You could actually see him grow taller with pride. We learned how to read a compass, tie knots, build a fire, look for salamanders, identify poison ivy and spot the flicker and blue jay. We played golf, kickball, volleyball, shot rockets into the air, and catapulted balloons. The theme of the week was science and we had guest speakers who reflected that theme: a scientist from Estee Lauder who made blue chocolate shampoo, a cryogenics expert who showed us how liquid nitrogen can make a hot dog shatter like glass, and a former veterinarian who now does research at Bristol-Myers Squibb. Eagle Scout Ryan Gaylo not only showed us the electric cars that he built, he showed the boys a great role model that they could aspire to be.
There is a great piece of writing that says everything I needed to know about life I learned in kindergarten. I’d like to present here a variation: everything I needed to know about life I learned at Cub Scout camp.
1.) Don’t let the flag touch the ground.
2.) Follow the law of the pack.
3.) Drink lots of water.
4.) Bring money for the trading post and share if your friend forgot his.
5.) Put your lunch in the cooler and when it’s time to eat, don’t forget to say grace.
6.) When reading a compass, put “Fred” in the “Shed” and walk off your paces.
7.) Take your arts and crafts project home to your mother.
8.) When you get hurt, telling a joke can help take out the sting.
9.) The buddy system works.
10.) Be willing to try something new. How will you know if you can’t cross the Monkey Bridge unless you give it a try?
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