I received the boys camp info via email back in January. The coordinators of Don Bosco Boys Camp upgraded their whole system to CampDoc.com, which made it super easy to sign the boys up, submit the health forms, and pay. You can even choose now to make payments toward their "camp account" if you don't want to pay the whole camp fee per boy at once. That was another change: the price increased this year as well. However, when you consider it's costing less than $23 a day for food, activities (including outings to theme or ball parks), lodging, crafts, etc. it remains an incredible deal. The theme for camp this year:
It was Gavin's turn to go to camp for the first time. I'm not sure what came over me, but I didn't worry in the least whether I had a packing list ready for the boys, or enough pairs of underwear for 13 days without a washing machine. Judging by the dirty laundry that was lost last year, the only thing Aidan consistently changed was his shirt. Even Father Mackin (Camp Chaplain/director) commented on how bad the cabins smelled at the end of camp. I found myself dashing madly around the house at the very last moment to get everything pulled together.
Last year I packed entirely too much for Aidan. Better be safe than sorry, right? And then I saw veteran campers toting simply a bag and a backpack to their cabins--and it took three people to carry all the stuff I had packed for Aidan. This time for both boys combined I packed less than half of what I sent last year. A good mom would pack a clean change of socks for each day of camp, right? Well, Aidan and Gavin share a sock drawer, so they end up sharing socks. Together they don't own 26 pairs of socks. So I sent what we had, about 19 pairs. Each boy came home with about 3 pairs of unworn socks still in their bags. Oh the horror! Crusty socks....
Eli's schedule worked in our favor, and he had both camp drop-off and pick-up dates off work this year. We reserved a hotel room in Stevens Point for that night so we wouldn't have to drive 10 hours in one day. We brought movies and a large bag of snacks to entertain us on the way.
Sleepy Addie
He is my son! I sat in the back to tend to little people...catch the moments of motion sickness...feed the baby...
The Mississippi River Valley
Crossing the Mississippi
We stopped in Tomah, Wisconsin, about half-way, to stretch our legs...
...literally...
...and buy some cheese...
...and while I was waiting for my husband to come out of the store, I watched a cheese maiden take out the trash.
And then we took another detour...we can never leave Wisconsin without cheese and fireworks.
The boys got pretty excited as we neared camp. "I remember this!" they'd exclaim as they recognized landmarks.
Chain O' Lakes
They changed the Camp Tamarack sign this year...we missed the turn, twice. Oops.
Once we stopped they bailed out and would've been gone had I not reminded them to help carry their bags.
When we got the boys checked in another boy offered to show Aidan to his cabin, while "Tommy" led Gavin to his. There were a lot less counselors standing around, and I only saw two seminarians on the grounds before we left. I thought it was odd, but decided it was probably because we got there later in the day and there was no Mass that afternoon like the previous year.
We decided to walk with Gavin since Aidan had been through this already. Gavin had someone looking out for him because his bunk ended up being in the basement of the Tamarack Lodge, which was nice and cool. His team name was #9, "The Knights of St. Thomas" while the row of bunks opposite his was marked "Order of Lazarus". It sounded exciting. I felt the same sentiment as last year: I want to go to camp!
There was a gathering room with a game cupboard right outside Gavin's bunk room door.
Liam was excited he finally made it up a row in the Suburban!
We headed back to Stevens Point to the hotel. Thankfully it was a much nicer establishment than the trucker motel we stayed in last year. (Including no creepy garbage-can picnic going on outside our door.) It was also calming to know we were still fairly close to the boys. I didn't have the sadness and panic in my heart that I did last year. We decided it was as close to a vacation as we usually get, so we ordered Buffalo Wild Wings and ate in our room. A lot of Buffalo Wild Wings. We brought enough leftovers home for the whole next day.
Eating cookies in bed while watching cartoons. Their father has taught them well.
I think they can pass as siblings
That bowl on the left is a garden side salad (that came with chicken and garlic toast). Yikes!
When we got back the next day I took full advantage of only having three children at home. I had completely forgotten how much less work it was! And how much quieter it was. I tackled, and finished several projects around the house (including redoing Aidan's room, which will be another post). I got caught up on laundry, made pesto, deep-cleaned under furniture, patched holes in plaster walls and painted. (So far, a week post-camp, I've been able to keep up, so please say a Hail Mary for me!) The children we had at home were the ones who eat the least, so I cooked only one new meal during the entire two weeks. The rest of the time we ate leftovers or deli meat sandwiches.
Liam had no big brothers to talk to so he talked to me instead. He became my little helper, taking out the dog and running errands usually delegated to older boys. He also became my little buddy again. The truth is that it's hard to give everyone the same amount of attention when there are those who need so much more of it, and Liam is the most undemanding in terms of affection. I needed the reminder to focus on my little Squirrel a bit more.
I sent the camp boys each a couple letters this year. Not so many as last year, because I remembered Aidan said he got teased for getting so many. They also made him miss home worse. We actually got a letter from Aidan this year (and one from Gavin was waiting for us in the mailbox when we got home from picking them up). It pulled at my heartstrings. Aidan is highly sensitive, so things hurt him more than others, and we have to take a lot of hurts with a grain of salt. We've tried to tell him that many perceived insults may be misunderstandings, or maybe he egged others on in some way. But this letter made me want to jump in the car and get him early (although having two friends is doing pretty good, in my book).
Gavin also wrote a letter, which was partially soaked along with the envelopes in a sunscreen incident in his backpack. He thought it was lost, but some kind soul folded up a piece of paper as an envelope and mailed it for him.
Needless to say, I was more than ready to have my big boys back at the end of two weeks. We planned to drive back to Stevens Point the day before camp was over and stay in the same hotel. Unfortunately, Liam's 6th birthday fell on the day we planned to head out. I told him he could have a birthday weekend instead to make up for it. Friends of ours who live at about the halfway point of our trip kindly invited us to stop for lunch. Liam picked out the cake, frosting, and decorations he wanted for his birthday, and we made cupcakes to take with us. Liam and Ian applied the decorated them.
Liam had to open his gifts in the car as well. He didn't seem to mind!
We took a different route back to Stevens Point, which took us along the Wisconsin River and through Nekoosa. I had a flashback from my childhood: I used to have big cardboard printer paper boxes under my bed to store my treasures in. Hundreds of my pen-pals' letters were stored in a box with "Nekoosa" on it. About the time I was wondering if "Nekoosa paper" had anything to do with Nekoosa the city, we turned a corner and saw a massive paper mill. For blocks and blocks at the end of streets we could see logs, presumably for making paper. It was a literal tree graveyard.
Nekoosa Paper Mill
That's a lot of dead trees!
It keeps going?
Yup, still there.
Yikes. I feel like planting a tree now.
Wow!
After one more night in the hotel (we could barely walk from aching backs...haha) we headed bright and early to Camp Tamarack, about a half hour drive from Stevens Point. Aidan was the first we spotted, sitting along the gravel drive with two small boys. He didn't seem much changed this time, and was covered in bug bites nearly as bad as last year. He had no idea where Gavin was, but we found him with a few minutes of arriving. He was giggling with excitement, saying he had a great time.
Soldiers of Christ
Deus Vult!
Gavin had to catch up with his little buddy
I was just trying to get a picture of the boys together when a whistle blew. They both got "deer-in-the-headlights" looks and said "We gotta go!" and ran off for line-up. We took seats by the pavilion and prepared for Mass to begin.
Campers (and Ian) running for line-up
Gavin with his team
Aidan with his team
The procession for Mass
Heading into the Tamarack Lodge
Last mail call
It became evident that Fr. Mackin was no longer camp chaplain. This was disappointing simply because Fr. Mackin "bled for camp", and it will be hard to match his enthusiasm. Later they announced he had been transferred to Los Gatos, California (where they also had a camp), and Fr. Nicholas Gardner took over role as chaplain of Don Bosco camp. Camp is now in it's 3rd generation, having been started by Fr. Abbet (who baptized both Aidan and Gavin). Mr. Henry was still there, as well as a couple other priests and ten seminarians. I noticed there were many more younger boys (even some seven year olds) and less big "counselors". I got the general impression that there was less cohesive organization this year, assumably because of the newness of the management.
The list of activities was the exact same as last year: two camp trips, one to the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, the other to a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers baseball game. Activities included dodgeball, baseball, basketball, shooting BB guns, archery, boxing, mock sword fights, swimming, the "Iron Man" competition, skits, singing class, and crafts. This year they painted their military team's shield on plaques. (Both Aidan and Gavin forgot theirs at camp so our first craft project of the school year will be painting new ones.) Both boys memorized the "Glory Be" in Latin. Aidan also served Low Mass for the first time ever, in the secondary position (Gospel side).
The shield Aidan misplaced
As usual, I had issues with my videos. There was plenty of storage on my phone this year, but I realized almost too late that my phone was not recording this march and the battle song they were signing.
The awards ceremony was held after, in the pavilion. Neither of the boys nor their teams won anything this year, which I felt was a good lesson for them. I skipped out on the last few minutes of the awards to run a couple little boys up to the bathroom in the dining hall. While I was getting boys food from the farewell luncheon, Eli pulled the Suburban up to the lawn where all the boys camp gear was spread out. Gavin ended up losing his backpack, flashlight, canteen, bug spray, sunscreen, swim shirt, and sweatshirt a couple days before camp was over, but we were able to find the rest of their gear.
Last team roll call/battle cries and standard collection. Since we've been home the boys have occasionally barked out their battle cries....
Gavin: "KNIGHTS OF ST. THOMAS: TEND TO THE SICK, BURY THE DEAD!" (0:25)
Aidan: "KNIGHTS OF THE CROSS: HEAL THE HEART OF CHRIST!" (0:36)
I was a bit surprised when we saw a boy go up to Gavin among the piles of gear, ask him if he wanted something (implying a gift), and hand him a piece of trash and walk away. Eli approached the boy and told him that wasn't very nice, and he did apologize. That, as we were soon to find out, was just the tip of the iceberg.
We made really good time coming home, and it was a ride full of stories. Even more stories have come out in the week since the boys have been home.
It may not have been such a bad thing that we lost most of Aidan's clothes last year. The boys brought home at least a pound of Wisconsin topsoil this year. I spent a whole day and nearly an entire bar of Fels Naptha soap washing out dirt and stains.
However, this year there was no apparent gain of virtue. Both boys were more aggressive and defensive when they got home. Many boys were simply out of hand, way out of the range of what you would expect "good Catholic boys" to act like. This was probably in part to there being less adult supervision. I understand my boys are nowhere near perfect, and there were some good boys at camp. You expect a little unruliness here and there, but nothing like this. Some were put in charge as captains and corporals who were not worthy of the posts. It's a wake up call for parents to take a good look at how they're teaching charity, and other virtues, to their children at home. We can't monitor them 24/7, but at some point good behavior becomes a habit and they'll have the integrity to stand up against those who don't have it.
Aidan's captain was easily provoked, apparently. Aidan was given push-ups (the go-to punishment) for making faces his captain didn't like. Aidan voiced a disdain for having to scrub the toilet and he was backed into a corner, punched in the gut, and had broom bristles shoved in his face. Then his captain pushed him out of their cabin. Recently I found out he pinched Aidan's chest and told him if he told anyone he'd get 16 push-ups. Aidan was called baby and stupid, told to shut up, shoved out of line, and others were tripped. He said he was afraid to speak up because he was always punished with more push-ups. They came home with a crude song memorized about killing Barney (the purple dinosaur) with a shotgun. Gavin was given the nicknames "Mascara" for his naturally dark eyelashes, and "Subway" because of his weight. I'm sure there were many other things that Gavin endured and simply shrugged off because he loves people and is extremely forgiving. Boys were taking God's Name in vain. Most disturbingly, there was a camper who put a another boy in a choke hold and body slammed him. Another boy threatened someone with his pocket knife and was expelled. I posted my concerns on a social media page I knew some of the campers' parents were on. I heard from other mothers that their sons were also bullied or witnessed it. One said her son was in the same cabin as Gavin and saw how bad he was picked on. While I questioned whether or not to share the bad that happened, I think it's important for other parents to be aware of what they may be sending their boys into, and may be able to address some of these behaviors before encountering them.
Because of the multitude of things that happened this year, the boys will not be going back to camp next year. I've mailed the camp administrators/priest my concerns. At this point next year I'll look up some camp parents and ask if there has been improvement before we decide if the boys can go back in 2019. Until then we'll be focusing on the good that camp was supposed to teach, and work on being better models of virtue to stand up against the bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment