I don’t have a twenty-year old body anymore. Here I was doggin’ on my girlfriend who swore she would never sleep on the ground in a tent.
“You’re a wuss. Sleeping on the ground is wonderful – being one with nature. Just pitch a tent and snuggle in your sleeping bag….”
There was no convincing her.
After Saturday night in a three-person tent with Ri and Mario, I’m starting to be swayed over to her side.
I thought I’d be fine with just a foam pad. I made fun of my girlfriend who drug out a twin mattress from the lodge and placed it in her tent. But damn if I didn’t want to pull one out in the middle of the night as I tossed and turned next to Ri and Mario. They were perfectly sound asleep – with no foam pad. To be a kid.
I woke up with quite the headache and my back felt like little trolls had stomped on it all night. But thank goodness for the drip coffee – sharp and black at 6 in the morning. All the parents looked bleary-eyed and in serious need of more sleep. I wasn’t in it alone. Meanwhile, the kids jumped around like those tiny plastic toys on springs that hop high in the sky when you press them on a flat surface.

Mario loved Boy Scout camp. He loved pitching a tent. He loved hanging with his guy friends. He loved running around in the woods. Maria loved it, too. She killed it in the beebee gun activity. She was like a sharp shooter – rarely missing the target.

I asked her if she’d help her dad out in hunting turkeys and she quickly responded that she would not kill an animal with a gun – she just liked shooting at cans. Those turkeys are lucky.
Mario loved finding gems and fishing, of course. He has got quite the fishing bug in him. The fish were not biting but he refused to leave until the volunteers closed the area.
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After the activities, we dragged all of our camping gear out of the car and found a spot amidst the other tents. We did not get a spot right next to Quinn but I was proud of Mario for not throwing a fit. It didn’t matter anyway because all of the boys were running around and jumping in and out of all the tents.
The evening was a lot of fun. The boys played football; Maria learned how to knit with another mom and acted as babysitter to a boy scout’s little sister (she loved that)! I got to talk with some fun parents and soak up a gorgeous night.
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After the wood fire ceremony, the scout leaders sent everyone to bed and surprisingly, Ri and Mario went straight into their sleeping bags. One great thing about Boy Scouts is that Mario actually listens and abides by the words of his scout leaders. They were both asleep by 9:30. I figured I better get to bed, too, knowing I’d be up off and on through the night. As confirmed above, good thinking on my part.
We woke up to omelets in a bag. Sounds rather unappetizing but they were actually quite good. Liquid eggs, cheese, veggies all thrown in a ziplock bag and heated in boiling water. What I learned at Boy Scout camp (I also learned that ketchup crystallizes when heated so it’s better to write kids’ names on foil with ketchup rather than marker when making their food over the fire because it won’t melt away their names – love these little tricks)! Of course, Mario was repulsed at the omelet in a bag so he proceeded to eat only the muffins and cinnamon rolls – until he got scolded politely by one if the leaders that no one could eat the muffins until the omelets were made. But not even the scout leaders scared him – he grabbed one more when he thought no one was looking – he will break any rules for sugar.
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My girl and I devoured the omelets and the rolls and the muffins. We will try anything.
So glad we decided to go on the trip and so excited about future camping with my sweet Boy Scout.
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