The boys came back from their mini-week at camp and are making plans to stay longer next year! I couldn't be more pleased. I spent about 15 summers at Camp St. Croix, both as a camper and a counselor and I am so excited that they like it too. Although, as I drove them home and they bubbled over with tales and plans and stories, it hit me that we are now on a path that would take them away from me for longer and longer chunks of time. Do I really want their summers home from college (I do realize that I am getting ahead of myself here) spent away from home??? Theo was laying in the tub last night (much needed) running through possible camp names for himself so that he will be ready when it is his turn to be a counselor. He asked for help. I could give none. Luckily camp names weren't part of the program when I worked there. I could never come up with something catchy. We did get advice from an old camp friend (John Ott of the Mr. T sticker fame) to never use an animal of prey as your camp name. Don't go with Hamster, or Chipmunk, or Rabbit. It will set you up for all sorts of trouble. I think this advice stems from the fact that the only counselor with a camp name from our era was Gerbil. It did not work well for him.
Theo had Spock and Torque, while Eli had Pompeii (younger brother of Volcano, also on staff) and Jackhammer, or Hammer for short. I like that Theo called him Jack (pause) Hammer. Like it was a first and last name. So formal out there at Camp St. Croix.
The boys stories continue to bubble forth. Eli mentioned that the first night he thought they would all go over to the bathroom to get ready for bed, but all of the sudden the counselor, Jack (pause) Hammer, announced lights out. So Eli popped into his sleeping bag in his clothes, which he then wore clear through to the next evening, when he was proactive and went to the shower house before lights out. Theo mentioned that he did change his clothes regularly, but did so IN his cubby. I said that they would have to figure out how to change out of the cubbies, because eventually they were going to get too tall- NOT SO, Eli interrupted! He, who is already getting too tall for cubby changing, found out that the shelf above his head can actually be lifted away to provide an extra foot of space. He's good til 15 or so.
Today at lunch they told me that one of their favorite cabin activities was 'hatchet throwing'. What? When did this come about? Sure, there is archery, and back in my era there was bb-guns and the mudpit wrestling free for all (both of which have been axed for litigation issues) but hatchett throwing? Is this a good idea? From the perspective of pre-teen boys, the answer is a thundering yes. And Theo couldn't have been more pleased that Lucy, the camp dog, delivered a bag of M&M's and Pringles to his cabin one evening. Thanks Julie Stucky! Love having a friend on site to keep an eye on the guys, and to help them feel pretty special. He did report that he shared the goods with his cabin-mates.
And here's the big news: Theo appears to have returned with all of the goods he left with. It all came back sandy and damp, but it seemed to be all there. He even managed to come home with one extra pair of shorts that we have never seen before. I wonder if they fit.... To put this into perspective, in one single day of daycamp last year Theo managed to lose: His hat, his swimshirt, his underwear, his socks, his waterbottle, and his raincoat. He came home in his suit, a t-shirt and his sockless feet in shoes. So to come home from 4 days with extra clothes? Who would have imagined.
As I continue to relive my camp days vicariously through their stories I am filled with a poignant mixture of thrilling happiness that they are taking to this thing that was so much a part of my life and a touch of sadness that this new growth they experienced as summer campers is moving them (slowly) away from me. And I think that is what that camp name thing is really all about- when they get to the stage where they are not the campers anymore, but the young adults who the campers look up to, then they really have become someone new. I just wonder who they will become. I finally have an idea for silly old Theo.... Cork (pause) Screw. Seems to fit in a lot of ways. Still thinking on Eli. But I have to keep these to myself. The point of a camp name is that you choose it yourself, your old mom doesn't bestow it upon you. But we've got time. Thankfully we have a lot of time before this happens.
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