CITs & The Start of Summer

The girls were both hired to be counselors-in-training at the Elks summer camp. It is the sleepaway camp they went to when they were younger. They both went through periods of nervousness, regret and excitement. Fortunately, it was mostly excitement. We did last minute shopping on Saturday, May 30. Then, Thomas and I drove them up to camp on Sunday. The camp is about an hour and fifteen minutes from our house. The first 50ish minutes is just highway, then the rest of the drive is very scenic country. There are lots of horses and hills and it doesn’t really feel like central Florida. The camp is in a beautiful rural area.

We said our sad goodbyes and their summer adventure began. Their first week was a training week. They learned the rules and expectations and did many of the same activities as the campers. They both enjoyed the week, but said it went by slowly. They were also able to regularly check their phones.

 

Meanwhile, it was the first full week of summer for Jack and Luke. Luke went to summer camp at the middle school. One of his good friends was there and he made a couple of new friends and had a good time. They even had a field trip to Universal—complete with express passes! They weren’t there very long, but he managed to do some fun rides and had fun, except they left him in the bathroom. He went in, came out and his whole group was gone. This was stressful for a couple of reasons, one, the obvious “what do I do now” type feeling (Luke doesn’t have a phone) and two, they had warned the campers that if they wandered off they would be in serious trouble and would not be allowed to go on any more field trips. Luke hadn’t wandered off, but he didn’t know if they would think he had. So, he walked around for a bit, found another group from his camp, who were able to call his group and he was reunited with no issues. I am not sure they even knew he was gone. Seems like they need a better system!

 

Jack’s week was a little quieter. He studied for the SAT and did some volunteering at the high school where he learned how to give tours to new students. And, he tutored his first client—a 3rd grade boy he is helping with reading and math. He said it went well, the mom told him she was impressed with how prepared he was and promised to leave him a good review with the company. Jack thinks he will be able to add more clients, if he wants, after he demonstrates he is reliable.

 

On Friday, Thomas, Luke and I went to Busch Gardens with one of Luke’s best friends and his mom and sister. They have played on the same baseball team for a few years and have similar interests/personalities. We had a very fun day. The drive there was unexpectedly long and it was a little more crowded than we expected, but the drive home was unexpectedly easy and the crowds cleared out as the day wore on.

Saturday, Jack took the SAT and we picked up the girls for their 24-hour break. It was nice to see them and hear all about the camp. I was impressed by how professional it all is. The counselors are background checked and drug-tested and the week was full of instruction (what to do if a camper is homesick, how to tell if a child is being groomed, etc.).  Some of it seemed intense. And, as mentioned, there was also time for fun to do some of the camper activities, like the ropes course.

 

We went to lunch on the way home at Steak n Shake, then mostly they rested. Saturday night, the boys went to a Flying Tigers game where they were handing out Tarik Skubal bobble-heads, the girls and I hung out for a quiet night at home. 

I asked Thomas for a picture of the crowd. This is actually quite a bit more than we usually see. Bobbleheads are a good draw.

Sunday, we had to drop the girls off at 1045, then we had to hang out until 130 when we could also deposit Luke. We went to a nearby park and practiced baseball and went to lunch. Then, we dropped him off for his week of camp. We saw both of the girls in their professional capacity; it was much easier to leave Luke knowing they were there.

 

The girls get a 2-hour break each day, which is the only time they are allowed to look at their phones. Anna has had some ups and downs. The counselor in her cabin only speaks Mandarin and does not engage with the kids or follow the cell phone rules. They assigned another counselor to be with them during the day, but Anna feels like she has to do all the work in the morning and evenings. Fortunately, the CITs get to switch cabins after two weeks, so hopefully her next counselor is more proactive. Kara is having a better experience. Both girls love their little campers and are going to miss them when the week is over. They see Luke occasionally and he appears to be having fun.

 

It has been quiet with just Jack. Jack said it is a little lonely and he would not like to be an only child. He has cleaned in the house, hung out with friends, gone running and will do his second tutoring session today. Thomas and I are going to work, just like any other week. We did go out to dinner one night. 

It's taking me a while to finalize this (I always write and then go back and add pictures), so I can update. Friday night, Thomas, Jack and I went to Epcot. We rode Guardians twice. We also went to the aquarium and rode Living with the Land and we saw the nighttime show! We almost never see the evening shows, usually we are hopping in line for something. But, the timing worked out. We all thought the fireworks were good, but the song choices and voiceover was not our favorite. 

Saturday morning, I rode up to Elks camp with my friend Kaitlin (one of the 3 if you remember my previous pity party post). Her daughter Ella was also at camp this week. She and Luke were in the same track and it was so fun to hear them discuss the week. They both loved it! And, they are both going the same week later in the summer. Luke had another two friends there from school in his track (we have told lots of people about the camp) and he said everyone had fun. But, his "best camp friend" was someone he met there, named Wesley. He said Wesley also lived in Orlando. I thought that was great and asked Luke if he got his number. Luke did not. Ella said that she got the numbers of all the girls in her cabin. I thought that was funny and wonder if that is a difference between boys and girls or just Luke and Ella? My recollection is that both Anna and Kara also communicated with their camp friends after camp and that Jack did not. 

We had to pick up Luke at 830 and the girls said they would get dismissed between 11-1130, so Thomas drove up separately for them. They both enjoyed their first week with campers and it sounds like they both did a great job. Anna made up a story, Ratanna, that she would add to each night as a bedtime story. I think she said she turned all the girls into rats and gave them rat names and they loved it. A couple of girls even said that was their favorite part of camp. Kara's counselor asked her to be a little meaner because all of the girls liked her the best :) One week down (two if you count training) and 6 to go! And, update on Anna's counselor who doesn't speak English--she quit. Anna is not sure what will happen now. 

It was nice to have everyone home for the night! Kara baked cookies with Jordyn. Anna and I went for a walk.