Camping

This week I lost my mind and went on one of my school's outdoor education, overnight camping, I might rip my face off adventures. I spent 2 days and 2 nights away from school and away from the comforts of my home. I was in a cabin with one parent, one other teacher, and 19 5th grade girls, ranging in age from 7 years old to thirty-something(in maturity).

I spent my nights with those ladies and I slept on a bunk bed with a mattress that was blue and rubber and looked strangely similar to the toddler tumbling mats that I recall during my days of donkey kicks at the TH Gymnastics Center.

I also had a trail group of 11 mixed gendered children. That would be both 6 boys and 5 girls. I phrased that oddly. I had boys and girls. On the first day we had tons of rain and I got really wet. Even in my Green Hornet jacket, I had wet pants, socks and shoes. I didn't cry. I thought about it. Then I realized that if I cried, so would 11 other wet panted and socked juveniles. I couldn't risk that.

This was our aquatic life adventure. That's a fancy name for "go and catch a bunch of crawdads." I really missed Courtney for this. She was the Crawdad Catching Champ of 1989. The only other competitor was me. Considering I wouldn't touch them, she took the easy win.

Proof that I was there. There's my cabin. It was named "Walnut." This easily allowed me to fantasize that I was indeed Laura Ingalls, that I would one day marry Almonzo Wilder, who was totally dreamy, and be a schoolteacher in Walnut Grove.

We learned an important lesson on making a shelter and using teamwork. I clarified that TEAMWORK not only didn't have an "I" but also didn't have any "I hit my teammates with the giant sticks I am gathering" in it either.

All 5 fit in the shelter. They did great. The other 6 made another shelter. Only 3 fit in that one. I guess in an emergency they would have to duke it out over who got in. Survival of the fittest at camp, you see.

I really had a good time. My kids were great and listened well. I was glad to experience this with them, since this was my last class of 1st graders before I left the classroom and started doing all of this coaching stuff. The best part of our adventure was our Trail Guide, who had been in this country for only 2 1/2 months from Taiwan. He was a hoot. I just returned and had to explain once again that Pawnee, Indiana is a fictional place only on the NBC hit show Parks and Recreation. Trinity is convinced that is where I went to camp.