Fircreek...abort, abort!

Despite our attempts to keep Drew invested, the cabins of Fircreek could not hold up to endless hours of water fun, tubing, scooters and hot tubbing it at the Whipples! Of course, I don't blame the kid. With a counselor who could barely keep himself upright, much less smile and talk nicely to his charges, who would? I'm serious! No sooner had I given kuldos to the big cheese about the waterfront life guards (which is pretty incredible considering how pathetic it's been down here in recent years) than Drew pulled out of Fircreek in tears. When I went to let his counselor know he wouldn't be taking the long walk back up to main campus, the dude didn't even know who I was talking about. This was when my big mouth almost embarrassed this family's good name. The mother bear in me was hovering right about ready to take his head off and ask questions later. Instead, I pictured Grandma Bernice watching from her chair up at the house, and pulled myself together, instead choosing to say to him, " Um, yeah, you should probably know the names of your campers by now, don't you think?" Cooper was in my arms, so his tender ears I had to protect. If not for Lil, my mom and my intervention, Drew would have spent his morning counting grains of sand with the other kids who hadn't yet been told they could get in the water. Meanwhile, four counselors stood around together, talking quietly about who knows what, basically leaving the kids to their own devices. And I was SO hoping this summer would be different. It's hard to sit back on the beach and hear it all, see it all, and wonder about what really is going on over there. This summer I've thought the waterfront was being handled so much better than last year, and definitely the year before when the staff yelled all day long at the kids, yelled at the kids out in the lake, yelled at the guess groups and pulled out the bull horn to yell some more---all day long! I just wish I could see that the counselors were invested in the kids while down on the beach. Maybe it was just an off day. Maybe I'm just noticing more because I'm keeping an eye out on the Lawrence kids and Drew. Maybe my expectations are just too high. Maybe the slug just had too many s'mores last night!