Friday, April 30, 2010

All I Need to Know I Learned at Girl Scout Camp

(my apologies to Robert Fulgham)

If I had made a list five years ago of all the volunteer positions I thought I might fill in my life, I’m fairly certain that Girl Scout leader would not have been on it.

I was sort of sucked into it in the first place. Sure, I wanted Vicki to be in a troop, but I had absolutely no intention of being any part of that troop.

Didn’t quite work out that way, did it?

Four and a half years later, here I am. Leader or co-leader of two troops, with another one on the horizon.

Call me crazy, but I love it.

This last weekend was our annual neighborhood campout. This was the fourth year for Vicki’s troop and the second for Lexi’s. There are a lot of things we’ve learned at Girl Scout camp over the years.  Let me share some with you:

1. You’re braver than you think.

Vicki on the Giant Swing

2. You really can fly.

Lexi on the zipline

3. It's good to try new things.  Like Girl Scout Soup (recipe: each girl brings her favorite can of soup. Dump them all into a pot, add water according to instructions on cans – give or take a few cans full – and stir. Warm, eat and enjoy. Also good with rolls or that pre-toasted bread they sell in the Hispanic foods section.) (I don’t have any pictures of this because I was busy cooking enough for 30 people. Maybe next year.)

4. People throw up, so prepare for the worst. In the four years we’ve been going to camp, we’ve only had one puke-free year. This year (as well as last) there were two incidents. One was my kid. Thankfully her problem was carsickness. Wish I could say the same for the other girl...
(not a picture of her throwing up)

5. Creativity is cool.

Tie-dye and SWAPS = pure awesome

6. Teamwork is essential for success.

Look closely - a prime example of teamwork this is not

7. Girl Scouting rocks!
(really bad photo pun)

4 comments:

  1. That picture of Lexi and the other girl in the canoe could be on a greeting card someday. Mark my words.

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  2. So did they just go in circles for a while? Too cute! I never did girls scouts. But after having two girls and reading all your posts about it. I gotta tell ya, I'm thinking about it.

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  3. You definitly could be a spokesperson for Girl Scouts. I love the picture of Lexi and her friend. How long did it take them to figure it out?

    Also, is SWAPS an acronym for anything?

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  4. No doubt, Mela, no doubt. Either that, or one of those anti-motivational posters.

    Linds, they didn't go in circles; they really didn't go much of anywhere. When I asked Lexi about it, she just said, "It was my turn to be the leader." Guess she didn't realize that by being in the back, she was the leader the whole time!

    Em, after I took that picture we got to talking again and the next time I looked up Lexi was still facing out the back, but her friend had turned around, so they were both facing the wrong direction. It was hilarious. And SWAPS stands for "Special Whatchamacallits Affectionately Pinned Somewhere" It's a Girl Scout tradition. The girls make little pins using whatever they want and then swap them with other girls. It's fun.

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