Earlier this summer, after Braden and I returned from our trip to Atlanta,  we spent a week at Cub Scout day camp at Camp Echockotee.  Yes, I said “we”.  Something you may not know about me is that I’m crazy over-protective when it comes to my kids.  Some of my friends tease me about it, but I’m okay with that.  The idea of my sweet boy out in the woods with the critters, shooting guns, swimming, doing archery.. all of that without one of his parents there?  It kind of made me crazy.

What if he got bit by a snake on a hike? What if he accidentally got hit with an arrow? What if they didn’t put sunscreen on him and he got sunburnt? Way too many what-if’s for me, so I took a week off of work and signed up to volunteer. All week long. All day long, from 7:45-5:30. In Florida. In the summer. What was I thinking!?

There are a lot of words I could use to describe the week – hot, exhausting, fun, rewarding, hot, sweaty, draining, fulfilling, stressful.. I could go on and on for a while, but you get the idea.  If I had to pick one word though, it would be fun.  Yes, I was tired.  Yes, I got cranky.  Yes, the boys definitely got tired AND cranky.  Yes, I had a few boys in my group that were what we like to call “a handful”, but in spite of all that, we really had an amazing time.

I started every day with approximately four cups of coffee.  Y’all, I have never been so tired in all of my life.  The heat, plus the managing all of the boys needs, convincing them that they needed sunscreen, making sure they were all drinking and eating enough, handling attitudes, traipsing all over the camp to different activities, participating in the activities…

hello, my friend!! <3

Every day we had a different schedule, but we pretty much did the same basic things – Scout Skills, BB Range, Archery Range, Swimming, Nature, Sports, S.T.E.M activities, plus another that I don’t remember the name of.. bad volunteer!

We built bird houses, went on multiple hikes, learned to tie knots, learned about how germs spread, made slime, identified birds, had a minor run-in with a snake, swam, built bird houses, raced in wagons, played gaga ball, and really just had a great time.

One of Braden’s favorite activities was building a rocket out of paper and masking tape, then shooting the rocket off of a contraption made out of PVC pipes and a bicycle pump.

these boys definitely kept me on my toes!

I was thankful for the activities that allowed me to sit down for a bit and chat with the other volunteers.  I had two other moms there part of the time helping with my group of boys and I loved getting to know them.  I wish their boys were in our pack!

And below is Mrs. Fran.  I’m told she’s very active in the North Florida Scouting community, but this was the first time I met her.  Unfortunately she moved to be closer to her children so we won’t get to see her next year at camp.  Total bummer because she was wonderful with the boys and taught them (and me!) so much.

I keep trying to decide which activity I think the boys liked the most, and I can’t.  They looked forward to swimming every day because it was a chance to cool off.  They all loved being on the shooting and archery ranges.  And gaga ball was a huge hit.

The range masters convinced the volunteers to take a few turns on the archery range as well.  I was concerned that I’d make a fool out of myself!  I’m comfortable shooting guns, but I’ve never shot a real bow before.  Thankfully the targets were close so I didn’t embarrass myself or Braden – I even got a few bullseyes!

As much as it felt like the week would NEVER end, I was sad to see most of the boys go on Friday afternoon.  Well, kind of.  I wasn’t really sad to see them go that day because I really just wanted to get home and take a shower and lie down!  Now though, I am sad that it’s over.

I don’t know that I’m sad enough to say that I’ll volunteer again next year though.  Maybe for half days?

I know that unless there’s a huge conflict, Braden will definitely be back.  He had an amazing time and learned so much!!  If you have a little guy and he’s not active in scouting, I urge you to look into it.  It’s become such a great part of our family life! <3