As I was putting Everett down for his nap this afternoon, I realized that one of the songs I sing to him I learned at my church's Girl's Camp. I went to Girl's Camp in the Texas heat almost every summer from the age of 12 to 17.
I then started thinking about all the things I learned at Girl's Camp and used (and still use) when I was back in real life after the grime and yuck had been cleaned from my hair. Who would have thought a week of sleeping in TENTS (that's right, no sissy camping here), hiking to a toilet, rotating through classes, and cooking over a fire would have such a powerful connection into what I am today (a couple of decades later):
- How to repel mosquitoes (and don't eat bananas, they love it when you eat bananas)
- Songs, songs, and songs (most of the songs I sing Everett I learned at Girl's Camp)
- How to pitch a tent and arrange it so I don't get wet if it rains (it is all about the trenches, people)
- How to cook, including how to make sore thumbs (YUM!)
- First Aid (especially taking care of bee stings and ticks)
- How to include everyone, especially reaching that girl that is unreachable
- All things about the night sky
- What plants to touch and not to touch
- How to NOT get chiggers (obviously didn't use this bit of knowledge earlier this year)
- How to kill poisonous snakes
- What bugs are dangerous
- How to bag trash so raccoons won't get it (okay, so I've used this once after camp)
- The bucket seat is the only way to go to carry your stuff and have a place to sit
That doesn't even touch on the friendships I developed, which resulted in the greatest part of what I carried back from camp in affecting who I am today. It doesn't touch on the crazy "catch phrases" that bring back an entirely hysterical episode:
- She has a hairy butt???
- Shaving cream fight
- JAWS
- Snorting out nuts and grape juice
And this synopsis doesn't even capture how much these experiences developed my testimony, taught me how to be a better daughter of God and a follower of Christ's teachings. But, it happened.
Who knew?
