where wildly different is perfectly normal
Keeping my mouth shut
Keeping my mouth shut

Keeping my mouth shut

I should have known better. Classic rookie mom mistake. Shoulda just kept my mouth shut.

See, A is going to Boy Scout camp this summer for the first time. Overnight camp. For a week. No parents. He has never gone to an overnight camp before, never gone that long without one of us around, never camped in the woods. We’re trying to keep our own fears calm (things like medication and overexcitabilities and The Most Complex Child in the World©), mainly by not thinking about it. But the deadline is fast approaching and we have to get him signed up.

Oh, and we haven’t mentioned any of this to him yet.

Until tonight. He heard us talking about the deadline and stated quite emphatically that he was not going. We mentioned that a couple of friends from his current Cub Scout den were going and wanted him to come too. He stated quite emphatically that now he was going. Hurray! That was easy.

Right.

He asked when he was going. Over July 4th weekend, we replied. Oh noes! He can’t go then, he wants to be with us here in our house for our First July 4th Together As A Family! (In his defense, we hosted a Fireworksapalooza the last eight years). Mom! Could you come get me and take me back?

Oh, I loves ya honey, but not enough to drive six hours one way.

SIX HOURS!

And again he stated quite emphatically that he was not going.

We have some work to do.

And I really have to learn to keep my mouth shut.

8 Comments

  1. Mel

    Aawwwww….poor kid. Has he done any camping with his new troop yet ? Our troop makes the kids go on at least one camp out sans parents before they can go to the week long camp. Maybe if he does that he’ll get excited. Or, there is nothing wrong with waiting until next year.R

  2. Suzan

    Oh, this so sounds like our house!!! Everything new is hated, it wouldn’t matter if was eating cotton candy! I too am learning the benefits of just not saying a thing. That and soothing talk later of “Now was that as bad as you thought?”. Seems the learning curve is as steep for me as it is for him! Yes, I have even resorted to the “you are going, because I said so!”. Only to be topped by the, “Don’t even bother to explain why, when you only are negative about new activites, no one, even your mom who loves you, bothers to listen to your reasons anymore.”. I figure, he’ll be in some counselors office years from now complaining about how he doesn’t know his true calling because his mom always discounted his input! So, I’ve already started the counseling investment fund earmarked for him…

  3. trish

    Yikes why are they camping 6 hours away? I got sick on my sixth-grade overnight trip and had to be driven home. Stuff like that does happen, so you think they would want to stay inside a reasonable radius.

  4. Hunh. I’d be more likely to go with opening your mouth more, and earlier, so A was part of the planning and decision making. I don’t blame him a bit for not wanting to miss something he loves to go do something of which he is unsure.

    (And yes, this was more like a $1.50 than $.02, so feel free to donate to your local charity if you don’t want it. Good luck either way!)

  5. Benoit

    6 hours trip !!!! OMG, he’s going abroad !
    From here, you could choose France, England, Netherlands, Germany (maybe Poland), Switzerland …

    I vote for Scout Camp. Sometimes parents need to say Go !
    But don’t forget to shout Ready, Set,….

Whaddya think?

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