American Heritage Girl Week @ Camp Friedlander

On Sunday, we left at noon after spending the morning packing up the rest of our stuff and met the rest of our group at Angie's house.  Our group consisted of Angie (who stayed till late Tuesday night), LuAnne, and I, as the leaders.  The girls were Kaley, Eryn, Carsen, Meghan, Risa, and Sarah. Risa is visiting from Japan for a month.

Sunday was very hot and humid and hauling our gear to our campsite was pretty tiring.  Meghan, Sarah, and I then had to complete our swim test. This was pretty nerve-wracking if you're not a swimmer!  It involves jumping into the deep end (something I don't ever do) and swimming 100 yards without stopping. The first 75 yards have to be overhand, breaststroke, or something like that. The last 25 yards have to be the backstroke. Then you have to float on your back for a while. (This is the only thing I'm really good at, by the way. The extra padding helps.)  Somehow, we all passed, though!

After this, we spent more time hauling and setting up camp. The girls' "tents" were on a platform with two beds in each. It was pretty interesting to say the least. 

Please come visit us, Raccoons!

One of the most exciting things for the girls all week were the nightly visits by the raccoons. The raccoons were especially prevalent the first night. My guess is that they quickly learn the pattern, i.e., new campers on Sunday night = possible new food sources! So any girl who hadn't listened to the instructions about "No Food!" found out the hard way why. Even the girls who didn't bring food were visited by the raccoons.  

The girls enjoyed an open swim time that afternoon. Then we had a flag ceremony and dinner. The girls stayed for Ice Breaker Games, and LuAnne and I went to the leaders' meeting. We were able to square away the girls' weekly schedules (a small logistical feat). There was also a campfire that evening where the staff performed songs and skits for us. It was fun!

But I can tell you that by Sunday night I was pretty exhausted!  There wasn't much sleep to be had, though, between the girls being loud (not our girls, btw), the thunder and lightning, and the raccoons.  

LuAnne and Angie slept in the orange and grey tent; I slept in the silver UFO tent at the far end.

Well, you know, the morning comes regardless of the amount of sleep you get. Flag Ceremony was at 7:50am each morning, and breakfast was at 8am. That meant that I got up around 6:30am each morning, which is way early for me.

There was a lot of singing that went on at camp. Sometimes I didn't mind; I was typically not a big fan at breakfast time, though. I think there's a certain amount of caffeine that is required before singing becomes acceptable. (However, Sarah and I are big fans of "Baby Shark" and are taking the opportunity of getting it stuck in everyone's head as often as possible.)

Anyway, after breakfast, there was a small amount of free time, and then the girls were off to their first classes. Risa, Kaley, and Eryn went to Climb On! (which was climbing), and Meghan, Carsen, and Sarah went to Archery. I was able to go with the Archery girls, which I enjoyed.

The Fierce Archery Chicks

All six girls met back up for Outdoor Skills (which was a walk back around the lake), and then they split again with Sarah, Kaley, Eryn, and Risa going to Canoeing and Meghan and Carsen going to Climb On!.  

While the girls were at their two later morning classes, I was at Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills (IOLS) training. That was actually a lot of fun, and I met some wonderful ladies.  (Oh, I learned a few things, too.) 

This is as good of a time as any to talk about the dynamics of the camp. For one thing, I loved that our girls were able to hang out together in any configuration. There were no cliques. I really never knew which combination of girls I'd find hanging out together, if it wasn't all six of them. That was such a beautiful thing to see!

LuAnne, Angie, and I, of course, got along great! I got to know LuAnne even better, and we've discovered how much we have in common. It was a lot of fun to hang out and work together. What a blessing these ladies were to me and to the girls!  (Even if Angie, the nurturing mom, had to leave Tuesday night and the girls were left with the two "suck-it-up" moms. :D)

And then I met all kinds of great moms from all over. We had a chance to get to know each other during IOLS training and from hanging out together at the girls' classes. At the risk of being pretty touchy-feely, I am so impressed with AHG and the moms and girls who are part of this organization. What a God-honoring, terrific group of people! (And so much fun!)

Anyway, back to the daily schedule... Lunch was after the three morning classes, and then there was a "siesta" time.  It was nice to have a little downtime before the afternoon classes. All six girls were together for the afternoon classes, which were Outdoor Cooking and Camping. After the counselor didn't show up for Camping on Wednesday, though, the girls only did Outdoor Cooking in the afternoon. We let them have free time starting at 3pm and skip Camping (which may or may not have happened again on Thursday and Friday).

So, mid-afternoon, the girls could choose from the activities they wanted to that were open that day. That ranged from climbing, archery, blobbing, lake swimming, canoeing/kayaking, and/or pool swimming.  (What was available varied from day-to-day, but there were always several options.)

Risa and Sarah, waiting for the Blob

The Blob

There was another Flag Ceremony at 5:50, followed by dinner. Activities after dinner included: Ice Breaker Games (Sunday), Water Games (Monday), Older Girl Initiative (Tuesday, breakout sessions to discuss what the girls want to see with AHG; our girls met with Patti Garibay, the founder of AHG!!!), Chapel and Movie Night (Wednesday, the movie was Tangled), Field Games (Thursday), and Closing Campfire (Friday, which was Family Night).

Our girls with Patti Garibay, the founder of AHG

Our girls did the Flag Ceremony Wednesday morning, and they said the prayer on Thursday evening.

It was basically free time after dinner. Sometimes the girls participated in the group activities, and sometimes they went off and did their own things. 

We had a severe storm Monday night that was not fun. We were all huddled under the shelter at our campsite. We were trying to not get wet, so we were all piled together in the middle of the shelter. Then they set off the camp siren to indicate "Take Cover!" Really? The intense lightning, torrential rain, and river going through our campsite weren't enough of an indicator that we should take cover? When the worst of the lightning of the first storm was over, I had to trek through the heavy rain and streams to the bathroom. (Not fun, completely drenched.)  A few of the girls had drenched bedding, and we had to make do with what else we could find. (I had brought some extra stuff, and Angie did, too.) We had another storm Tuesday night, but we were more prepared and were up at the Dining Hall hanging out with another troop, playing games.

After the storm on Tuesday night, the weather was gorgeous! It had been very hot and humid up until then, but afterwards it was much cooler and not very humid at all. It was lovely! (In fact, it got cool at night to the point of having to crawl in my sleeping bag.)

The archery girls competed in a tournament, and I got a chance to shoot, too. (I love archery! And it's been too long since I've shot my bow.) Anyway, I "won" the moms' competition. :)  Sarah and Meghan both did well, but Carsen was the only one to advance to the next level. The next level was the following day, and Carsen did fine. There was another girl who ended up winning, though.

The moon was beautiful Wednesday and Thursday night. Sitting on the driftwood by the edge of the lake, I watched the bats swooping through the sky. That was Wednesday. On Thursday, several of the girls and I hung out by the lake and were completely silly. (That was when ISAPK was born! The International Society of Albino Peacock Keepers now has a life of its own.) Thursday night was silly in general. I got into a fierce KEMPS game with some other troops, and a Sarah and Kaley eventually joined me. Let's just say the moms were so wild that LuAnne could hear them screaming at our campsite, 0.12 miles away. There was dancing on the tables. 'Nuff said.

Some other silly, fun things included my "Stump of Cleanliness":

 

And Ben, my shower companion Monday through Thursday:

And our great first aid advice from Shane. "One of the best things you can do is take your shirt off." LOL! (I don't have a picture of this. ;) )

Friday afternoon, our families came out to see us. That was nice, and it was fun to show them the camp. I think it helps them to share in our memories a bit.

And this is just a funny comparison of the girls:

Meghan's stuff and Eryn's stuff (very tidy)

Risa's stuff and Kaley's stuff (normal)

Sarah's stuff and Carsen's stuff (LOL! Explosion!)

I calculated that we walked an average of 6-8 miles per day. On less than 5 hours of sleep per night, that's quite exhausting. (And it's taken me at least 2 days so far to recuperate.) But we made memories to last a lifetime! 

Decision Made

Ahhhhh, the relief of making a decision almost eclipses whatever feelings I'd be experiencing with the specific decision itself! But, in any case, right now I feel like a ton of bricks has been taken off my back.

After finally having a chance to talk to Craig (who has been at work for the last two weeks or so), the choice seemed pretty clear. I can't endure another year of misery and insane stress.  It's not been good for me, for the girls, or for him, though he is so supportive he would not say it until I pressed him on it.  The bald truth is that I've been desperately unhappy for the last year.

So I will probably take a class or two each summer and finish things out over the long haul. I do have other options to get to where I want to go, so I may pursue those instead. We will see, but I'm not worried about it.

As always, my family is the most important thing to me, and my true joy comes from focusing on them. God continues to bless me with wise friends who know my heart and can speak into that to reassure me that "changing course doesn't mean that what [I've] done is a waste, even if it doesn't come to the completion [I've} envisioned when [I] started" (Luker, 2011, para. 2). And also, "You can always get back to doing school, you can't get these precious days back with your girls still at home" (Hansford, 2011, para. 3). (<--That was a little APA humor there, in case you missed it. ;) I have to stay in practice for when I go back. I'd quote you, too, Loa, but, since we talked on the phone, I can't cut and paste our conversation!)

So, anyway, today I am so relieved, and I am looking forward to my life again!

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions...

Well, college is looming again after an all too short summer break. In addition to finding out that I received bad information in the spring about how many classes I still had to take (not 4, but 5), I also found out that the EDUC390 Practicum class became a 17-week course. That messes up a lot of plans, and, in some ways, makes it even more daunting.  In some ways, it may be better, because there are 90 practicum hours required regardless of whether they're done in 8 weeks or 17. 

In either case, after several days of angst, I dropped the EDUC390 course and added 2 more courses to the fall load.  I'll take EDUC390 in the spring.  Or...will I?

This is the real question looming before me. Of course, throughout all of this, I have been praying for wisdom. Every fiber of my being (well, okay, maybe not *every* fiber) is screaming in protest about going back to class.  I just do not want to go back.  And it honestly seems like every article, sermon, and book I pick up keeps saying, "God's ways are not the world's ways. Others will think you're wasting your life if you do or don't do certain things, but God calls you to do radical things."  

In particular, there was an article in Practical Homeschooling (not a magazine I normally read, btw) that seemed aimed right for me.  I wish I could find a link to it; it was that good.  (It was written by Jeannette Webb, if anyone wants to search for it.  The article was entitled, "For Them, or With Them? A Mother's Dilemma," issue #97.)

When I put together our portfolio assessments for homeschooling this year, I was not happy. I do not feel that I did as good of a job as I should have this past year with the girls. And the reason was that I simply could not. I could not do more than I did, given all of the work I had to do for myself.

And that is the crux of this issue--trying to decide what is the best thing to do right now, at this stage of my life. I went back to college, thinking that it would be the wise thing to do to prepare for when the girls would leave for college. Then I could get a job and help contribute toward their expenses. But as I circle back around I wonder, "Will they be able to get into college if I continue to not homeschool them well for another year?" (This applies more to Katie than Sarah, obviously, as Katie is entering her junior year.  However, my long-term concerns for Sarah are not to be brushed aside. She is in her critical middle school years.) 

In any case, I've prepared a nice pros and cons list for the different options.

#1 Quit...at least for now.  (I'd need to resume by around 2017 to be done by 2020.)

Cons: 

• Have to start paying back loans now
• May never finish
• Feel like I've wasted the last year or so (if I never go back)
• Feel like a failure

Pros:

• Able to focus again on my home and family--this is a huge pro for me.  Though it only takes up one line, it is worth at least a dozen.
• Less stress
• Have been able to apply things I've learned already to my homeschooling

#2 Reduce to 2 classes per semester

Cons:

• Still not concentrating fully on home and family
• Still stressful
• Will finish in December 2012

Pros:

• Will finish in December 2012 (It's a pro and a con.)
• Still working toward my goal
• Less stressful than 4 classes per semester
• Still get financial aid

#3 Keep my schedule as is (4 classes in the fall; 1 in the spring)

Cons:

• Very stressful
• Not focused on my home and family hardly at all
• Makes Craig's life more stressful, too
• Will be done in May 2012

Pros:

• Will be done in May 2012
• Still get financial aid and won't start paying back loans till spring or summer of 2012

Well, that's as logical as I can make it.  However, this is ultimately not all about logic. I sure wish it was! It would make it a lot easier.