So most of you already know that I work with the youth at our church. And this week was our annual Girls Camp. We had 17 girls in our group! I think we were the largest group there And since we only had two adult leaders who were going, Gideon and I happily volunteered. I mean, we know he loves to camp so he's no trouble, right?
Frankly it was fun. Gideon enjoyed it (as he always does) and the girls definitely enjoyed having him around. He pretty much became their mascot almost immediately. And all seemed to be running along quite smoothly.
Well..........Apparently some other leaders (not ours) had asked if they could bring children and were told no, so when I showed up ready to stay the week with my baby, some people were not so thrilled about that. And so stuff started to hit the fan. (Or well something. There wasn't really a fan, we were outdoors.)
So the Stake Camp Director sent a message through our director and basically we were politely asked to leave.
Not wanting to continue to cause hate and discontent, Gideon and I left camp after just one night. I won't get into my frustrations about the situation or how it was handled. (The girls were especially upset at losing their pet for the rest of the week.) But I struggled with what I should do knowing that I'd left two adult leaders (one of whom has both hands in casts because she just had carpal tunnel surgery) alone with 17 teenage girls for the rest of the week. And yet I'm not to a point where I'm comfortable with leaving Gideon overnight just yet. So I had to make a choice. Family? Or Church Responsibility? It was especially tough knowing just how family centric our faith is. Or at least professes to be.
In the end I left Gideon with Grandma and went back up and spent Thursday with them. I had planned on staying that night and then helping them pack up and come back down this morning, but we had two other adult leaders who showed up Thursday evening for that reason, so I was able to leave late and go home to be with my baby boy.
Anyway since then, the best I've been able to do is just joke about the situation and tell people that I was kicked out of Girls Camp for sneaking a boy in. As for the munchkin, 4 months old and already got kicked out of Girls Camp. What a ladies' man!
4 comments:
You really handled the whole situation with grace. I am sorry that it all had to happen, though. Glad you were able to go back Thursday night and it was nice to visit with you.
Ugh...! Western Mormons!
To answer your question of family or church responsibility.. I had a very busy calling that was prefaced when the high councilman extended it to me. He said "your family always comes first. If you have to miss a meeting or event for your family then don't feel guilty about it."
I'm glad he did mention that, as the calling was quite busy and there were a few times where I had to ask the same question you did. :)
You are more skilled than I. I'm not sure I could have handled camping at girl's camp with my baby all week. I would have ditched the responsibility for camp! I admire your dedication. You did far more than I would have...and he is too young to be without mama just yet!
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