Mid-Week Camp Report, Week 2

This week the monkeys are at All Sports Camp at Grace-St.Luke's. On Monday, Warren and I set them loose in the gymnasium with about 50 other kids--mostly boys, mostly their age. The camp started off with a bang--they immediately took everyone to Putt Putt. Having just been there the day before for a birthday party, I think the monkeys felt good about jumping right in.

I was actually pretty impressed with their overall positive attitudes about doing something new with new people. (I think starting them off with a small, intimate camp was definitely the way to go.) I was the one who left with a pit in my stomach and the words, "I just left my babies with total strangers who are driving them across the city!" ringing through my head. But, obviously, I wouldn't leave the monkeys if I didn't think they were in good hands.

Jiro has the advantage again this week due to his best buddies Santi & Enrique also being in attendance. An All Sports Camp is definitely going to be an easier fit for the three of them since they like to walk on the wild side!

When I picked them up from Taekwondo Monday evening (Warren did the camp to Taekwondo shuttle), they were bursting with information. They got to play all three courses at Putt Putt, they got to buy drinks, they went swimming, they had a snack later that afternoon, other kids brought DSes and iPods to lunch and they wanted to too, etc.

Satchel, who still insists on wearing jeans every day, informed me that he did not go swimming. Part of this has to do with him being extra sensitive about the birthmark/monkey spot on his leg and part of it has to do with probably not wanting to change in front of other kids in the locker room. Jiro and Satchel were both amazed by the fact that pretty much all of the other kids changed clothes in front of each other with no modesty. I can only guess that the majority of them attend GSL and are pretty used to doing so. (I've ordered Satchel extra long swim trunks, but for whatever reason they are taking forever to arrive. If you know of some locally PLEASE let me know!)

I asked both boys if they'd made new friends. Jiro said yes and Satchel said no. When pressed, Satchel admitted that one girl did talk to him and some other girls were poking him in line at Putt Putt. "A girl came over and looked at my Rock-n-Romp shirt and told me she'd been to Rock-n-Romp before," he said. Before I could say anything, he continued (in a too-cool-for-school tone), "I told her, 'Yea, my mom started Rock-n-Romp. I've been to every one.'"

HA!

I must admit that I was somewhat pleased that he was showing pride in RnR for the first time EVER, but I thought that he could use a little coaching on how to make friends. I advised him on smiling, asking people their names, telling people his name, etc. I told him that he could ask the girl which RnR she'd been to, ask what school she goes to, etc. He looked at me like "Do you really think I am going to talk to a GIRL?"

By Tuesday evening, Satchel did report that he had made a friend. I can't remember said friend's name, but he sounds very interesting. Satchel told me how his friend once super-glued his sleeping bag to a ceiling in Japan and slept in it and how his friend got a free Play Station from Dell when he wrote a letter detailing his "extra height" disease.

After several of these stories, I finally had to tell Satchel that his new friend might be a bit of a liar, but he didn't believe me. (Said friend apparently has a scar to prove that he fell from the sleeping bag glued to the ceiling.)

Today they are going bowling. I can't wait to hear the next report!