And now, the end is near....

...and today is the last full day of elementary school. Tomorrow they only go for half a day, and then another year is done. Sigh.

I suppose there are those parents out there who are looking forward to their kids being home for the summer, and those who dread it. This year, I'm neither. Perhaps my senses have been dulled by all the recent trips to doctors, emergency rooms, IEPs, sports days, track meets, assemblies, sleep over camps (I'm still trying to get those images out of my mind!).

My kids are now 10, 11 and 12. My oldest has been out of school since last Wednesday, and tomorrow morning we go back to the middle school for her awards ceremony. Oh, and to pick up her clarinet which has been sitting in the band room since last week. Oh, and so she can hopefully find her favorite grey vest that she lost a few weeks ago. (We each have our own priorities.) My middle daughter has her "leaving ceremony" today at the elementary school. And my son still has one more year in that school.

Last night at dinner my oldest commented how we will have attended leaving ceremonies 6 years in a row by the time all 3 kids have finished elementary school and middle school. Then we get a year off from ceremonies until the final round of graduations start. (At least I hope there's a full round of that!!)

When the kids were all pre-school age I never really could imagine that as they moved through the school system we would have these yearly repeats. The annual "Back to School bbq" at the elementary school is the same every single year. I have been to 7 of them in a row, so I do know what I'm talking about. The Valentine's Dance? Yes, the same every year. I know it makes it easier on the organizers (and yes I was on the PAC for two years and I wasn't about to re-invent the wheel either). But it's difficult to maintain the appropriate level of enthusiasm year after year after year.

When my kids were in the younger grades I always thought those older kids' parents were so jaded and unsupportive not to attend every function....HA! What did I know?

So today I will attend the leaving ceremony and take the photos and cheer for my middle daughter, and then next year I will do the same for my son. And then it starts all over again at the middle school.

And I'm NOT going to get all weepy. I won't focus on all the struggles she's had to overcome and how hard won all her successes are. Nope, not me. I won't get weepy.

Must be my allergies.

Silver Lake Camp - Day Two

It rained, it drizzled, it spitted, it blew. It SUCKED! Not only was I exhausted and deprived of good coffee, I was cold and wet. Oh I had a good coat and my hiking shoes and warm socks, but I was still miserable.

However I had the sense to avoid the child-raised-by-wolves at breakfast and skip the messy disgusting scene altogether. As I attempted to drag 10 grade 4 and 5 children down with me into misery, they persisted in having fun in the mud and rain, and that didn't stop them from canoeing or finding their way with a compass. Except of course for my daughter. "I'm cold, I'm tired." Really? Why on earth would you be tired?????????? "I don't want to do this." My response...suck it up princess. (You may have picked up on my lack of empathy here.)

By lunchtime there was a glimmer of sunshine and we parents huddled around it for warmth. It was our groups' turn to clean up after lunch and all the kids helped...except for....you guessed it....my daughter. I found her back in the cabin lying down on her bunk. By this point I have had all I can take from little Miss Sunshine.

So I proceed to tell her that from now on she will not be participating in her groups activities, she will be following me around to her brother's group so I can watch him having fun. And man was he having fun! By this time the gray skies were definitely lifting and I had hopes for a better afternoon. My daughter and I headed off the watch her brother in archery, but first she had to visit the bathroom "I'll catch up to you she says." Twenty minutes later I check the washrooms and she's leaning up against the wall half asleep.

I know you're all thinking that a kind and gentle mother would carefully carry her beloved daughter down to her cabin and let her sleep in her bunk. Then when the little princess has awoken from her slumber, we would have a lovely chat over a cup of tea and all would be well with the world.

NOT ME! Oh she went back to her bunk alright. Kicking and screaming while I made her pack up her stuff, and while I packed up mine. I found a spot where I could get a cell phone signal and called my husband to come pick us up. The party's over honey.

So while she fumed and cursed me in the parking lot, I went in search of my son and gave him the news that we were leaving. He was quite upset because he hadn't seen much of me the whole camp. So I reassured him that after he got home, we would leave her with Dad and he could choose an activity for just the two of us. That seemed to calm him down, and he went running off to the zip line. Then I found the teacher in charge and explained the situation. I asked her to take my place in the cabin so the other mom could actually get a good night's sleep and she would gladly do that for me. (I couldn't leave the other mom alone with those kids....).

While I waited in the parking lot for my husband to take me away from the misery, my daughter decided to apologize for not doing what she was supposed to. My response was...It's nice of you to apologize but it doesn't change anything. We're going home and tomorrow while your friends are still at camp, you can help me clean the house."

Finally my husband arrived and we headed for home. Her sleeping and me wishing he would drive faster. When we arrive home I headed for the shower and she headed for bed. Heaven. For now....

Silver Lake Camp - Day One

I had this whole post written in my head, and as I started to write it for the blog I thought - no one is going to believe this actually happened. No one is going to believe the following:
1. That any sane person would knowingly attend camp two years in a row.
2. That even after having had many many many experiences where I had to pack up one or all of my children and leave an event early, would I accept the offer from another mom to ride with her.
3. That I would actually take the time to pack my son a bagged lunch like the other kids, when he would choose to spend his time running up and down the side of a mountain with all the other boys.
4. That I would actually be helping a group of ten grade 4 and 5 kids come up with a rap that included the name of their activity group "The Chippy Chipmunks".
5. That the only seat left in the lodge at dinner time was across from the "child-raised-by-wolves" who eats spaghetti and sauce with both his hands, and I was helping my daughter at another table so I got to sit with him.
6. That I would be foolish enough to think that by 10 pm, 13 grade 5 girls would eventually be able to settle down.
7. That one 11 year old girl could wake up throughout the night at regular intervals asking "What time is it?"
8. That one 11 year old girl with asthma could cough all night long as if she's been chain smoking for 50 years.
9. That my own daughter, despite repeated firm requests to go to sleep or lie quietly, has to go to the bathroom 4 times in one evening when she hasn't had anything to drink since 7 pm.
10. That my own daughter, despite repeated firm requests to go to sleep or lie quietly, can innocently claim that it's not her kicking the bunk above her. It's not her who is throwing her pillow at the bunk beside her. It's not her who is playing in the washrooms.
11. That I would not be able to follow through on my threat to take my daughter home immediately because I hadn't driven to camp.
12. That after a sleepless night, the only other adult in the cabin with me would NOT strangle the 11 year old girl who in response to the adult saying how inconsiderate she was to keep everyone up and how since she's been here before she should know better, replied in her rudest voice "No, last year we were at Circle Square Ranch."
12. That all this could happen before 7:30 am.

Silver Lake Camp vs. Circle Square Ranch

I really really did NOT want to go to camp with my grade 4 son and grade 5 daughter. Last year I went with my older daughter and my middle daughter. You seen, grade 5 daughter is a type 1 diabetic and unless I go with her, she can't go.

"Can't her dad take her?" I hear you asking. Nope. Because the parent has to stay in the same cabin as her and 3,000 other grade 5 girls. (Ok so perhaps it's only 13 grade five girls, but it seems like 3,000.)

Last year we were at Circle Square ranch in Armstrong. But apparently they have closed down. So this year we were at Silver Lake forestry camp in Peachland. Let's analyze the locations, shall we?

On the plus side for Circle Square are the newer washrooms attached to the sleeping areas, unlike Silver Lake that requires a hike up the side of the mountain with only a flashlight to light the way.

On the plus side for Silver Lake is the fabulous food - seriously it was good and even included real salads. Circle Square seemed to have banned anything remotely resembling a fruit or vegetable. The coffee sucked at both places.

Silver Lake also has a newer lodge that includes a huge stone fireplace, and each cabin actually has a wood burning stove that were lit on the cold damp evenings. Circle Square ranch however only had baseboard heaters.

Critters were more plentiful at Silver Lake despite the attempts to keep them out of the cabins. It seems those devices that plug in to electrical outlets to keep rodents away don't work. (Nothing like hearing something scratching at the walls in the middle of the night!)

As for activities, Circle Square had horseback riding and a climbing wall. But I guess Silver Lake doesn't need a climbing wall because it's built on the side of a mountain!

Silver Lake had orienteering which was very challenging for many of the kids (and the parent helpers). Both camps had archery. Silver Lake actually does have a lake while Circle Square has a pool that isn't heated. Silver Lake offers canoeing and pedal boats and leeches are included at no extra charge. Circle Square has a BMX track, but at Silver Lake you get pond studies and fire starting as well as an obstacle course. Did I mention Silver Lake has a fireplace for those damp days when being a parent helper in the damp, rainy forest is less than fun. Plus, the kids arn't allowed in the lodge unless it's a meal time.

The staff at Silver Lake were crabbier than the staff at Circle Square ranch. Perhaps it's because the staff at Silver Lake had to have wildlife names like Grizzly, Cheetah and Bushbaby.

The staff at Circle Square had lots of field games that parents and kids participated in after dinner each evening. They were a blast! Of course, some of the teachers and the parents get just a tad too competitive. At Silver Lake they didn't have a large field to play games on, so yup, you guessed it. We had to play Flags running up and down the side of the mountain. Not a blast.

Stay tuned tomorrow, for our experiences on day one of Silver Lake camp. And try not to think about rodents scurrying around under your bed while you sleep.

I wasn't always like this...

I'm positive there was a time when I was organized, when I was never late for anything, when I never ran out of toilet paper. I'm sure of it.

I distinctly remember having "it" together. I distinctly remember rolling my eyes at the whining and complaining of other women who couldn't seem to work full time and run their households. I mean seriously, how hard can it be? And as for those moms who chose to stay home with their kids instead of returning to work...what did they DO all day long?

Yes, that was before I had children. That was before, when I was younger. That was before,when all I had to concern myself with was my wardrobe and what I was going to do on the weekend. It's all a blur now.

I seem to recall(because my memory is not what it used to be...) that the official start my brain deterioration began when we first started looking into adoption. As we went through the home study process I discovered that I was starting to question the accuracy of my memories. My husband seemed to remember the same event completely differently than I. (Not saying that he's right, just...well...I highly doubt it!) Then as we began the wait for a proposal is when I noticed my mind wandering off when I should be concentrating on my job as an accountant. I would be listening to music and dreaming of what my baby would look like, and what clothes I would buy for him or her.

As the days and weeks passed I would spend the time alternating between day dreaming and becoming more anxious that it would never happen. When we were matched with a birth mom and she changed her mind, and then again it happened, is when I started going down hill fast. I realized how little I could control this process, so I began to find projects that I could control. My veggie garden was perfectly weeded. I reorganized, packed and labelled all our camping equipment. My house was spotless. And then the call came, and we were off to Chicago to meet our new baby girl. That was the end. And the beginning as my new world and new life as an exhausted mother began.

From then on it was a regular slide into short term memory loss. Oh sure, long term was still there - I could remember all the words to Hey Jude - but not what I was supposed to be getting at the store, or what day it was.

Fast forward twelve years to today when I discovered that my car insurance expired two days ago and I had been driving without insurance. In my previous life, that would never have happened. So now I have to ride my bike to town and renew it, but I can't find my cell phone, and what is my bike lock combination?

Can I get a brain transplant????