Shmexiest, Funniest Camper

There are so many things I want to do with my children and so many experiences I want to be able to provide for my kids.  We all wish we had more expendable cash on our hands but the reality of the situation is that most of us live relatively pay check to pay check (if not literally, then pretty damn close) and have to save up for the extras that we want in life, or venture into debt.  I remember one of the biggest things I worried about and actually cried over when my marriage broke down was that my children were becoming 'statistics' and I feared they'd never be privy to what the other kids were privy to or that I'd have to constantly apply for aid to assist in allowing them to experience life like the kids whose parents were still together and who had two incomes.  I was so fearful of them missing out that I busted my ass to ensure that hasn't happened, and now I've probably swung too far to the other side.  I feel like they get almost too much handed to them now.  A happy medium would have been nice, but I digress.  Although that being said I did have to postpone our Mexico trip this year because I refuse to go into debt in order to travel.  Whoa, first world problems, I know.  But they'll still luck out because now I'm on a mission to make sure that trip still pans out eventually.

However, despite those fears, over the years I've learned quite the lesson.  Maybe being a product of divorce isn't a terrible thing after all!  I genuinely think my boys have it made in the shade.  Between me, their dad, my family, their father's family, their step mother's family, Eric's family...well you get the point right?  So all this guilt I tried to avoid was for naught.

Back when Gage was about 8 we thought it would be good to send him to camp for a few days.  He was a very social boy and the experiences at camp would hopefully stay with him.  At the time my divorce wasn't final, and we were still swimming in debt.  My parents were living with me while I struggled to get my head above the water it was currently sitting under with this new lifestyle I was living.  So being awesome parents that they are, they paid for Gage to go to camp.  I think they did this two years in a row or at least helped out the second year, but I could be wrong.

So fast forward to this year.  I was reminded of the existence of Cave Springs Camp while I was sitting in a United church during a funeral.  I immediately thought it would be something that Roan would LOVE to partake in and, frankly, it would be good for him.  He's been keeping relatively busy with friends this summer, but something more structured with lots of activities would be perfect for him.  The catch?  I have just finished some renovations at home and couldn't really spare the $400 it would cost to send him for 5 days.  Thankfully his father agreed to cover half of the expenses and off he went.

I'll be honest, I had an unsettling feeling in my stomach all week and I couldn't understand why.  I was worried he wasn't having fun, that he wouldn't make friends (I have ZERO idea why I would think this as he makes friends with everyone), that maybe he'd get hurt, you know typical parental worries.  Unrealistic and uncalled for to say the very least.  Upon our arrival to pick him up, following his stay, he immediately asked if he could attend another week this summer and babbled on and on for hours about how much fun he had, how many friends he made, etc., etc.   So turns out things had gone well despite my fears.  Seems, according to Roan, that all the girls just loved his abs and would look for any excuse they could come up with to hug him.  He even walked away at the end of the week with the Award for the "Most Shirtless Camper".

Upon his arrival at home he was relentless in his mission to secure another week at camp so I did my best to muster up half of the fees telling Roan he was on the hook to secure the other half.  He immediately called my mother and coerced her into covering the balance.  I think she said yes because she was trying to be fair. Regardless, he was happy to learn he'd be able to head back a couple weeks later.  And again, he seemed to have a great time because he wasn't too happy to see us when we got there to pick him up and asked if he could return for another week before school lets back in (Don't push it kid!).  This time around he had a few girls fawning over him again and received the Award for the "Funniest Camper".  No wonder this kid loves Cave Springs, it's a complete ego booster.

He's decided, at this point, that he would like to get a job there when he's older, as a counselor, which I think would be great for his personality.  So we're thinking this year he should take the Babysitting Course offered through the YMCA and possibly a First Aid Course over the next couple of years.  I'm just hoping he doesn't lose interest in this idea throughout the year because I really do think he'd be an ideal counselor.

I really am quite blessed to have a good job, and a wonderful family to help ensure that my kids haven't been affected too drastically by a marriage break down.  I'm grateful my children have had several opportunities in life to experience some wonderful and different things...things an awful lot of children in the world today just don't get to do.