Operation Independence by Tisha Powell

 
I can’t believe it!  My little girl is a Girl Scout camp veteran.  She spent an entire two nights away from home with people who aren’t relatives and no one called me to come and get her.  I’m so proud of her independence.  This is a major milestone.  I’m actually surprised by my sense of calm through it all.  I think what I felt most while she was gone was reminiscent of days gone by.  I remember Girl Scout camp like it was yesterday.  Ahhhh... Camp Whispering Pines.  It was so liberating being away from home with the other girls singing songs and cooking with homemade stoves.  It was a blast!

There is something I’m going to do differently next time though.  We’re always so busy, I figured I’d just pack Nina’s bags for her.  With any other child this wouldn’t have been a problem, but with mine.. it went horribly wrong.  When I picked her up after the trip I noticed she looked really dirty.. almost like Pigpen from Peanuts!  I’d never seen her that gritty before.  Come to find out.. she didn’t know I put soap in her bag and showered without it for two days.  She says she couldn’t find the soap, flashlights, binoculars or half the other things I packed for her so neatly wrapped with highly identifiable Hello Kitty duct tape from Target.

Sometimes what saves me time isn’t doing her any favors.  She needs to be more involved in how things actually get done.  Packing for that trip should have been something we did together.  I kept putting it off because I thought it would be easier for me to just get it done while she was at school.  Well.. the result of that was all over her face.. literally.  I’ve noticed I handle a lot of things this way.  I just do it for her so it can be done quickly and MY way, but she’s not learning anything in the meantime.

After she got home from camp we went shopping.  I thought what a great time to teach a life lesson.  I grabbed my purse and she grabbed HER money and we went to the mall.  Normally, I just buy things for her and let her money pile up.  This time she used her own money at Justice and realized it didn’t go very far.  She now has a greater appreciation for the hard work her parents do to take care of her.  I think we’ll tackle the laundry next.  Thanks to Girl Scout camp there’s definitely plenty of it. 

 

Comments

[kristan martin]

hello my name is kristan martin and i am 1 of the victims of a child molestation case where a granville couple had made child porn of me and my cousins a few years back there are many unknown children victims on videos and photos in this case and the trail will be held august 23 there names are marcello lara and marie lara he's on a 500,000 dollar bond the wife posted bond and has recently had another baby which DSS has took from her home and i would like to speak to someone at news 11 about this case to help other children who have been molsted by this couple and are affraid to speak up i am only 16 years old please call me or write me back please i need your help call me at 919 4449007 i really neeed your help so do other children

[Thad @ Automated Forex Trading]

My gosh, hope that everything's ok.

[Dan Gilbert]

Hello, I have a quick question for you about your site. If you could please get back to me at your earliest convenience I would greatly appreciate it. Have a great day!

Thanks,
Dan Gilbert
Marketing Support Coordinator
Primrose Schools
dgilbert@primroseschools.com

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Girl Scout camp is a good thing to make your child independent and bold..There they make new friends and live without family for few days..

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It's great to hear from you and see what you've been up to. In your blog I feel your enthusiasm for life. thank you.

[Cesar Diaz]

Great article, thanks for posting it.