Recently I had my first experience with Boy Scout Camp. Well, to be more specific it was Cub Scout Camp, so I was lucky in that I was not cooking my own meals and I had a warm shower when I felt I needed it. This was definitely not the camping trip I am used to. Our family camping trips do consist of tenting it for a few days and making our own meals (which I usually carefully prepare at home beforehand so it is easy to reheat), and we often go fishing and light hiking, but at the Magness Camp we walked. And hiked. And walked. And then walked a lot more. I won't lie. I was tired, sore and hot, and I was REALLY sick of it raining each time we tried to head to the lake. But I kept my smile on my face, thinking to myself that I would fake it until I make it. And then, surprisingly, I did! I started to enjoy myself. The soreness was still there but it came along with a sense of pride that I had done a lot of walking and I was feeling awesome. And then there was the pride of watching my son and daughter do wonderful and new activities that filled them with pride and excitement. And when I came home and realized I lost five pounds I was even more proud of myself.
Sometimes it isn't always about what we want to do, but if we have a bad attitude during it we will teach our kids to grumble through these things and not enjoy them either. My daughter, with her short little legs, did quite a bit of complaining about walking. But my son, who knew that a new adventure waited for him at the end of that long walk, had a much different attitude than he usually does. And after we all came home we realized that we have so many memories that we will cherish for a lifetime.
So, when you are hot and tired and ready to quit, just remember that sometimes you just have to "fake it until you make it". Your kids won't be the only ones that will thank you for it!
Have a wonderful and event-filled week!
Vicki
What you will find this week!
