It's Youth Camp.
While for many that means nothing, to a seasoned (or perhaps not even so) Qwanoes staff person, the letters YC mean a whole lot.
They represent a final week of summer camp.
They serve as the reminder (actually, the reason!) everything done during most weeks will now be done bigger - more unfathomable yet more memorable in the same breath.
YC brings with it heightened expectations which are either met or exceeded.
YC means more food, special events, energy seeping from areas in our selves we didn't know we still had left by this point.
10YC included Rocket Tuck yesterday.
It included preparing to say goodbye to friends who will take with them, a piece of us.
10YC included our annual banquet. It's a dress up affair. Many will spend literally half of their day getting ready.
Try explaining that to a 3 and 5 year old.
"Yes boys we get to eat outside tonight. It's going to be a special supper and everyone will dress up."
What would you do if your three year old very confidently stated that if we all get to dress up then he will be going as Superman and his brother chimes in to assert the fact that he will then be going as Spiderman?
I contemplated briefly whether or not to allow this. Would the campers who had worked so hard all day to position each lash and straighten each last piece of hair, take it personally that some unruly mother allowed her unruly children to make a farce of the whole thing? After all this isn't Halloween. To many, this banquet event could be nearly compared to a prom, (minus the dancing, smoky dark lit room and groping...or after-parties).
After gently trying to persuade them that the definition of dressing up was to wear one's nicer clothes...sweaters from Nana not sweatshirts, jeans or khakis not track pants...and realizing quickly this was a waste of breath and that I have bigger battles, I gave in.
"Sure," I said "you two dress up in whatever you want..."
And my two little superheroes had a blast like kids should...and the campers? They wanted their pictures taken with the little superheroes in blue and red. No kidding.
We could all learn a little something from our wee ones, couldn't we?
2 comments:
I told Kaia we were dressing up and she told me which princess dress she would be wearing. I told her, "no, not dressing up, dressing up...like one of your beautiful dresses." She said Noah and Tait were dressing up and I said, "yes, I know. They will look very nice too." She told me I was wrong, to which I replied, "please stop arguing with me." When we pulled up and the Keizer boys were running down the hill as the fabulous superheros that they are, Kaia said "see Mama? I told you they were dressing up." When I saw it, I gave a little delightful chuckle and thought to myself, "good for you Ashleigh." :)
Hope and pray that the boys never outgrow their independents and dressing their own way. Love them as they are. They are my superheros.
Love,
Grandma
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