What We Do For Love

 Pamela Tracy here, and I didn't grow up camping.  I don't think I owned a sleeping bag until I married my husband.

  Fast forward... I'm on sleeping bag number three.  So is my nine year old.  He outgrew the Thomas the Train sleeping bag we purchased before he was born.

  So, what do you need to know about Pamela the writer...  It's summer.  I do my best writing, and I have a book due in two weeks.  Last week, my son went to Cub Camp.
Cub Camp is for younger kids.  It's like training for real camp.  The kids are in their own cabin, they have their own activities, and are corraled by counselors.  But, since they're young, a parent has to attend.

The above cabin was the Mommy cabin that I stayed in.

To the left is the bottom bunk I slept in.  And, yes, the mattress was not my friend.





Outside the cabin was a porch.  I pulled a chair out there and read my book (when I should have been writing.)  I watched three squirrels.  Two were on one tree.  The lone squirrel was very close to me.  Had I a nut, I could have tossed it and hit him.  He was inching up the tree.  Then, here came a bird, attacking him.  Landing on his back! My book did not have such a glorious black moment.  The squirrel gave up; the birds were victorious.  I figure there must have been a nest in that tree.

                                                                                                                                                                           
  
 This cabin here is one that rents during the weekends.   I got permission to use it for writing.  It had no electricity.  It was me, a couple of bunks, and a table and chair.  I wrote 4000 words in one day.  I also, as I sat at my chair, noticed something happening out on the porch, under an eave.  At first, I thought it was a bird.  Then, I got to looking at the black, spiky thing.  It was a bat!  I stood on the chair and watched it slink around.  Later, the caretaker said, "Hmmm, bats shouldn't be out during the day.  It must be sick."  I didn't go back to the cabin that day.  I think I'm scared of sick bats.  Yup, pretty sure that's the case.  I did go back the next day though.



This is my nine year old and his favorite counselor.
Just so you know, as we were driving home, Mike said to me, "Mom, guess what?"
Me: "What?"
Mike: "As I was packing to return home, I unrolled my jeans and there was my toothbrush.  I'd been looking for it."
Me: "So, you didn't brush your teeth the entire time we were camping?"
Mike:  "Not even once."
Me:  "Ew."

Mike was really a year too old for Cub camp.  I purposely sent him an extra time, so that I could go along.  See, yesterday his dad and I took him to camp, dropped him off with the big kids (fourth grade!) and then we left.
Left.
Left.
For a week.
I'm not in the Mommy cabin.
I'm in our home, picking up his legos and returning them to his too quiet bedroom.

I didn't cry when I said goodbye.  I'm raising an independent little guy and I want him to know he can soar without me.

At least for a week.

Comments

  1. I feel bad leaving our dogs for a few days. I can only imagine how you feel as a mother, Pamela!

    Thank you for sharing the pictures, too.

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    1. Kate, we have Grandpa come feed the Grandcat LOL. It's day three without Mike. It's too quiet.

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  2. Hey, Pamela--I"m with you--I did not grow up a camper, but this looks great! And how cool they had a "mommy" cabin. That makes it easier on everyone. Thanks for sharing. :)

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    1. This was my fourth year going with Mike. I love the Mommy cabin. One year the Mommies brought a table in and we stayed up until midnight playing UNO.

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  3. Pam! You stood on a chair to get a closer look at the bat?! You're such an adventuress. What a cool experience for your son, and now for you to have a quiet week on your own. I'll bet your husband's glad to have your full attention. I don't camp. Roughing it would be a hotel without a pool. But I'm so glad you had such a great time - and 4000 words in a day. Kudos, girl!

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    1. Keep in mind, Muriel, there was a glass window between me and the bat! My husband and I both took Mike to camp and then we stayed overnight at a motel in town. We walked around, went to see a movie, and had a great time.

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  4. Pam, I too got into camping when I married into a camping family. Denny's mom and some friends used to take their kids and camp out at the Oregon coast all summer long. Their dads would go over there on weekends from the valley. I am not a huge fan of camping. I like 4 start hotel camping best. But my kids loved it. You are a good woman and your son will have these memories for a lifetime.

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    1. Roz, my sister in law Patti wanted to do that for a few summers. I said no. I'm good out in the middle of nowhere (no cabin) for about six days. Then, I'm done.

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  5. Pam, love this post! I grew up camping....camping, camping and more camping. My dad often worked out of town so in the summer my mom would load all five of us kids up and we would camp near where he was working. Then he could come "home" to his family in the evening. We thought it was a great adventure. My mom was such a trooper. These are memories your son will cherish (and hopefully your back will recover from that bunk mattress(:

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    1. Carol. Too Cool. My husband is a plumber and often works out of town jobs. He takes are camper. Then, weekends Mike and I go join him and explore wherever he is... usually some small town. My favorite thing is going to playgrounds in some of these small, small, towns. The equipment is still from the 50s.

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  6. Great post Pam! I'm with Roz though-hotel camping is really the only kind my family has ever known lol. I'm sure my son will probably want to go to camp when he's older, which means I have another five, six years to get as brave as you:)

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  7. Hang in there, Pam! I sent my now 10 year old off to camp for the first time last summer and I worried about him the entire time he was gone! He did have his sister at the same camp but they were only together for meals. It helped a little to know they could check in with one another three times a day though. He will have a blast and come home with more stories than you can imagine. Enjoy the quiet. It's only for a week and weeks go by way too fast in the summer!!

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  8. It's way too quiet. And, nine must be the age for going to camp alone.

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  9. Pam, sorry I'm late, but I had to chime in and say that I loved your post and pics! Love the bit about the bat :). I so wish I had a cabin to write in right now. I tried the public library today (to escape all the noise my boys are making), but it was loud too, believe it or not. Anyway, time will fly and he'll have tons of stories to share with you :).

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