“He Left For Camp (And She… Stole Someone’s Dog?)” could be the lyrics to the next hit song… There’ve been stranger words… There is a song out there in my distant past that revolves almost solely around “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life,” repeated over and over…
OMG. When did THIS happen to Rockstar???
Rockstar left for school sports camp yesterday. It’s kind of a rite of passage. When we started out, none of my mum friends with kids involved were happy about this. After the briefing and now camp has started…… I don’t know anyone whose kid was supposed to go to this camp and didn’t ultimately send them there. That includes my friends whose kids are in the SEN programs/ Rockstar’s friends – it’s a rite of passage for all. Our Year 4 kids. What’s more amazing is the number of dedicated professionals they have minding 150 Y4 kids in this thing. And that’s not counting the Y5s and 6s (they go for longer).
They send a letter home way in advance:
“…The campsite itself is safe and secure, offering the children many opportunities to develop sporting skills such as archery, rope courses, mini rock climbing, tennis, arts and crafts and much more. Our team has already undertaken a pre-visit to the camp site and a detailed risk assessment has been completed…”
“…This will be an invaluable experience for the children as they will be involved in a number of activities that encourage creative thinking, cooperation, communication, integrity and respect for others. They will have the opportunity to reinforce essential life-skills and to participate in team building and problem solving activities and games. We shall be placing great emphasis on Team Building and the development of the children’s social skills as well as covering important elements of our curriculum. It is therefore expected that all children will attend…”
“…Since we aim to encourage your child to be responsible and independent, it will not be possible for your child to make telephone calls home but do be reassured that, in the event of an emergency, you will be contacted immediately…”
Last night I missed Rockstar so much it hurt. So bad. It wasn’t enough to send angsty texts to similarly angsty mums. One Korean mum informed that she’d sent her daughter in with a little GPS device. This is interesting, because I’ve never actually seen one up close, but have actually been stopped by Aussie grandparents who wanted to know if the Miss’ mosquito repellant anklet was actually a “child-tracking device” and where they could also purchase one.
Practically every mum I regularly chat with, whose child had just reached “school sports camp-going age”, freaked about this camp. Our kids all went anyway. Do you know why? Because of the tradeoff between <makes signs to ward off evil> accident risk – when staff fully trained in medical procedures are in attendance, it should be noted – and the opportunity cost from the loss of this learning experience. The cost of what our kids would lose out on, in terms of learning experiences, was just too great. So off the kids went.
The Miss……………
I know. Enjoying a first “Only Child Experience” (she was really, really curious before he left)
Rockstar and I have a bet going. Both kids were wondering re experiencing time apart, but I’m about to lose my wager that the Miss asks after Ko-ko’s whereabouts/ otherwise displays some form of missing him….. Rockstar thinks she’ll miss him just about when it’s time for him to get back; I thought she’d miss him on day 2. I might have ruined my chances by going DoyoumissKokoDoyoumissKokoDoyoumissKoko but I couldn’t help it.
Another interesting observation is, now Rockstar’s not around to bark at her to stay out of his stuff….. She hasn’t been in his stuff at all. Not once. Not in his cave, not to dig out his Precious Box Of Especially Weird Stuff….
Things that make ya go “Hmmmmm”.
Instead, she uh, “stole” someone’s dog. Much to our dog’s delight. JD is 17kg of tough, sporty Border Collie who loathes cuddles and attempts to pick her up. Ergo,
Miss: Mummy, JD just growled at me.
Me: You tried to pick her up again, didn’t you?
Miss: Umm, no, no, she was….<looks away> telling me how naughty (our helper) is .
(That’s the other thing about the second one – she can talk the hind legs off a donkey. She can talk herself out of a speeding ticket any day, if her little feet could only touch the accelerator pedal.)
And in the meantime….
They don’t guarantee they’ll catch your child in the “live update” pictures they hurriedly post on the school website (you log in on your child’s account btw, and it is track-able), but I think they really do try. These are a lifesaver. I lap up every little glimpse. And the Miss would just be so jealous if she saw those… Especially the storeys-high rock-climbing wall (complete with all the safety harnesses, of course.)
ps: I had some reaction from my earlier broken-bones comment… Lemme flesh that out – I’m germ-freaky and well, freaky about some other things re safety, but in general broken bones, particularly legs or arms, aren’t one of them. Here’s why:
Recognise this guy? (Nick Vujicic) – pic from www.cosmopolitan.gr
Maybe you’ve seen this bestseller in bookstores (pic from quotesgram.com)
What about this guy:
(Stephen Hawking) pic from ducksters.com
(There’s a separate thing in there about disability/disadvantage being your greatest advantage… Like in Malcolm Gladwell’s David and Goliath. We are meant to do our creative, sincere best with the hand we are dealt in life, and sometimes disability – or poverty, or any other number of “disadvantages” is the Refiner’s Fire that you need to build the resilience that will take you through life’s bad periods.)
Extreme examples to be sure, but lookit how far these people who are totally beating The People With The Working Limbs have come. A powerful reminder, that the mind is practically “everything”.
Take care of the mind, whether to reduce any risk of bacterial meningitis (many cases of which they only speculate how infections occur) or to guard emotional wellbeing, build emotional resilience, and your kids can weather “anything” life throws at them someday.
No, it’s not easy. Parents have the absolute biggest, heaviest responsibility ever – because while your child is young, vulnerable, needing their parents….. you are held to a tremendously heavy duty of care.
Breed insecurity, unhealthy rivalry between siblings, and all that stuff I’m aware of being a little melodramatic over (forgive me, it’s 2am :P) and you are emotionally crippling your child worse than if I don’t know, your broke their actual limbs or something. And that’s possibly for life. Bones heal, even badly, but the other stuff… (And so another thing I’m freaky about is bullying – because that messes with when your child is trying to develop emotional resilience). Sure, they listen to you, do what you say…… but it’ll never be out of actual love <shrugs> I’m just sayin’ <shrugs again> They’ll listen to you sure, because well, you made them HAVE to, but….. whatever. They don’t love you. Geddit?
And my third freaky thing? Helmets. The Miss has been in a helmet from the moment she could stand on a scooter. NOT because I thought she might go at break-neck speed before she was 2, but because I never wanted to have The Fight when she was 12 and whizzing about, a real speed demon. Scooters and other wheeled toys go with helmets. This is as basic as Newton’s Law Of Gravity. Because it takes only 5 seconds for your child’s life (and yours) to be changed forever, by this one.
Rockstar looks to be enjoying himself in the photos. 150 children and they upload photos of everyone of them? Really nice of the school. I wonder did Rockstar tie the bandana on his own head.
The little dog is so gentle to let Miss Rockstar hug it. I’m sure Miss Rockstar is missing ko ko just like mommy but she is not telling anyone about it. 🙂