Because I spent such a lovely evening with the YW at the temple yesterday, I feel compelled to clarify a few things. Yes, I did feel that two of our girls were singled out for more than their share of the blame in the big cell phone controversy, but that doesn't mean I condoned them using them to talk endlessly to friends and family back home when they were supposed to be enjoying camp. And I did get a little annoyed at other leaders constantly bringing up the names of our girls when their own girls had been busted as well. And while I have been known to embellish a story for interest at times (it's the writer in me), I really did feel quite ostracized after telling my little mission story. If those 'dismayed' women only knew what a struggle it has been since my baptism for me NOT to give the one-finger salute to everyone who deserves it and to try to clean up my language after being raised by someone with a potty-mouth like my dad's; then perhaps they would cut me some slack. But, if they don't; the church is still true and I'm not going to go inactive over it nor am I going to lose any more sleep over their opinions-but it sure did leave a bad taste in my mouth when I got home. Such a bad taste that I forgot to mention a small detail in my last entry that will make today's much funnier. Let me try and fix that.
There is one leader at camp that I adore and was thrilled to see again this year. (She wasn't in the cabin for the middle-finger story, and I KNOW she would have laughed.) We'll call her Sister A. I'm told it's not camp without her and I believe it. Last year, the leaders made up a rap as our skit-not because we were good at it, but because she was good at all those rappin' sound effects and we wanted to let her shine. This year we did our song at skit night for the very same reason-just to show her off. Like me, she is not afraid to make a fool out of herself to get the girls' attention, but she does it SO MUCH BETTER THAN I EVER COULD. The rapping, the loud singing, the disco dancing, and the fact that she speaks that evil language of sarcasm make her a favorite among the girls AND me. I had a great time getting to know her better this year since this year was, according to her, "the first time I've heard you speak." (Meaning me) The reason she missed my most embarrassing moment at camp was because she had borrowed my umbrella (that I finally remembered to get out of my car) to "go visit the nurse" which means she decided she would rather take a warm indoor shower in an air-conditioned building. (A lot of girls and leaders get "sick" at camp for this very reason.) She came back later without my umbrella, but I didn't think much about it because I was feeling disgruntled over other things, as I've beaten to death here. But I really should have left that in here because it's part of today's story. Oops!
Friday morning dawned cold, cloudy, and early. Sister F had to leave and she decided to go before the girls got up so that they couldn't beg to go home with her. I got up to see her off and decided while I was at it that I should see if the campers' bathroom had running water since it was before 6 a.m. and no one was in there. It DID! I took a nice warm shower and it felt so nice to have hot water that I didn't even care about the lurking bugs and other ickiness-I was clean! I'm not sure I've ever in my life been in such a good mood about being awake that early in the morning. My good mood lasted through breakfast and the flag ceremony and even carried me through me teaching one of MY old camp songs to the girls while they certified since teaching a new song is one of the last things I had to do to certify myself. (No, I didn't teach them "Juvenile Delinquent," but I really wanted to!) That day's lunch was a fajita-style skillet over the fire and even I thought it came out pretty well. Timing was on our side, because no sooner did we finish eating than it began to rain...then, it began to POUR. We tried to clean up, but ultimately we scattered back to the cabins as fast as we could run. Even so, I was soaked when I got there and realized that I couldn't leave because...my umbrella was at the nurse's station.
We were stuck in the cabin for about half an hour during which time I was careful to keep my mouth shut and grateful to change into some dry clothes. Thanks to the rainy weather and high humidity, both my shower towels, my pool towel, my swimsuit, and now my jeans were all soaked with no real prospects for getting dry until I got home and used a real dryer. Because we were leaving in the morning, many of us began packing. I wanted to pack my damp stuff up in my rain poncho, but thought I had best keep that out until my umbrella made it back into my possession. No sooner had I mentioned this to another leader then Sister A dashed into the cabin. Knowing she could take a joke, I teased her about "somebody taking my umbrella and never bringing it back." What was even funnier was when she said "WHO?!" in a very protective 'give me a name and I'll kick some booty' kind of voice and I had to tell her that it was her. Good stuff! Fortunately, the rain let up quickly, we cleaned up our area, took our supplies back, and with that we were finished with this year's certifications. KL really enjoyed signing all of mine, I'm sure. After that, there were certificates to sign, bags to pack, and an evening's activities to prepare for.
Every year on Friday, we do a kind of spiritual walk at camp. Last year, I got to be one of the speakers. This year, I was one of the guides. That was nice because last year the only talk out of ten that I got to hear was my own. This year, I would be hearing everyone else and I would be with the girls. After a good night's sleep and a hot shower, I was feeling a lot less disgruntled. I was also a little disappointed. Last year, I had felt very lonely during the Friday night activities because I was the only leader from our branch that was able to go. This year it looked like Sister F and Sister O would be able to join me, but at the last minute, neither one would. So, I did my best to suck it up as several other ward and branch leaders arrived throughout the afternoon. Again, we were pretty busy getting ready to leave and that helped take my mind off of it. Before I knew it, it was dinner time and I was eating what will likely be my last meal this summer that I haven't cooked myself. That dinner was followed by Death-by-Chocolate cake which I don't think I've had since Mom Mary Kay used to make it for us when we were teenagers. Yum! After dinner, I went back to the cabin to get my camera, a poncho, and a flashlight and happened to meet up with Sister A; using my umbrella! I was getting my poncho anyway and told her I would get it later.
After some songs and what we call a "thank-a-mony" meeting, it was time to start the spirit walk. (The "thank-a-mony" meeting is when everyone tells their best friends how much they LUV them so that the evening's testimony meeting is much more serious and Christ-centered.) This year, the sisters portrayed key female biblical characters and we took the girls from cabin to cabin in small groups to hear their 8 minute talks. It was very inspiring. Our last speaker was the woman taken in sin. Because her talk wasn't quite 8 minutes, the last three were supposed to be spent in silence and meditation. I spent a lot of my time pondering my marriage. In addition to feeling a little ostracized over different life experiences, it was also a little hard to hear about the picture-perfect marriages that all the other leaders in my cabins were enjoying when my own...well...isn't. As I thought about this, I must have looked sad because for the last two minutes we sat there, I was joined by a second-year camper who put her arm around me and said "you look a little lonely." And you know what? I was a little lonely. What a sweet girl! We left that cabin arm-in-arm to walk back inside for our testimony meeting where I was thrilled to see Sister F who spent the day at Ft. Sill and decided to come back for the testimony meeting so I wouldn't be alone!
The testimony meeting was beautiful as usual. Two of the five girls who came with us bore their testimonies and so did Sister F. I've always said that she is the spiritual glue of our YW program and that Sister O and I are just the comic relief, and I stand by that. We are so lucky to have her leading us, and how wonderful it was to have another leader with me most of the week. Once the testimonies were finished, we heard from some of the stake presidency. I have to say that it makes me laugh every year how President K comes out on Tuesday "to stay for the first night" and never winds up leaving until Friday. As he told the girls that "the Savior had already atoned for whatever mistakes they were afriad of making in the future" and that "no worldly experience could tarnish the innocence in their hearts unless they let it," I wondered why he wasn't stake president when I was young and needed desperately to hear those things. And then I decided that hearing them now was good enough. While it wasn't our easiest week at camp, it certainly did go better than the previous year, and I am still very glad that I went and very grateful to the leaders who put this together for us every year. Once again, it was a job well done.
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