“I almost walked up to the office to call you guys the first night, but my friends convinced me not too.”, Kaylee told Jodie and I, not long after returning from 6th Grade Camp.

It was probably a good thing she didn’t because, although Jodie and I had fully intended to leave our phones turned on as we slept, we had forgotten to. Awesome parenting, right?

“So…?”, I prompted her.

“The food was bad and I didn’t sleep at all the first night!”, she told me.

“Would you do it again?”, I asked her.

“No!”, she said, firmly.

“Really?”, I asked again.

“No!”, she demanded.

“Why?”, I asked. 

“The food was horrible!”, she repeated, adding, “And the beds had graffiti all over them, and….”

“….it wasn’t that bad, then!”, I interrupted.

“… and everyone kept farting! My friends and I all used the bathroom at the same time…”, Kaylee continued.

“…so no one knew who was farting?”, Jodie interrupted, laughing.

“YES!”, Kaylee confirmed.

Although I missed my little girl, I am proud of her. My own experience with 6th Grade Camp some 36 years ago – ironically, at the same campground and ( likely ) bunk houses – was disastrous.

Due to nerves, bad food choices, or both, I didn’t shit for the entire week. Showering was also traumatic. I spent the first two days with unrinsed shampoo in my hair before I gave up on bathing altogether. I was all-too-happy to return home, or at least I would have been if my mom didn’t immediately whisk me off to an event at the Portuguese Hall upon picking me up –  unshowered, filthy, and still very constipated, in dress slacks and a tie.

So, no Kaylee. I’m not sure I’d do it again, either…

But I’m glad you did.

– Dad

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