Twas the day before camp and all through the house,
Every creature was stirring trying to get packed.
That’s where the creativity ends on that catchy little Christmas in July song parody. I didn’t even bother to try and rhyme. Wait. Not true. I did give it half a second worth of thought. Mouse, louse, douse, packed. And that’s where the song ends.
I don’t believe I mentioned that two days before camp, Justus, our 13 year old, had an out-of-town soccer tournament. Therefore, we had to be completely ready for a soccer tournament with all food and cold beverages and food (never enough food), plus five people worth of a clothing for a week, towels, hoodies just in case, sleeping bags, sheets, Bibles, shoes, flashlights, class teaching materials (for Matt and me), and twenty to ninety other random items – by the Friday before leaving for camp on Sunday. No biggie.
The hoodies? They were argued over. “Mom, why did you put ‘hoodie and jeans’ on our packing list? We will totally not need them.” To which I answered that you never know when the temperature might dip down at the end of July at church camp and you’d sure hate to be stuck freezing in shorts and tanks so pack them because I am right.
Oh, they will thank me once we’re there and they are chilly some evening. Which won’t ever happen because the lows are supposed to be hot. But still, just in case.
So all that to say that I was way too busy to cook on Friday but everyone still wanted to eat so somehow I had to schedule that into my day. I did not, however, remember to put “clean the kitchen” on my to-do list. So I would quickly cook some form of a meal, then leave the room to carry on with my other jobs. Therefore, when I walked into the kitchen for a glass of water Friday afternoon, I was greeted with this:
While this picture surely throws us all into overstimulation because there is so much mess to look over at one time, your eyes undoubtedly landed directly on the bag of Bugles right there front and center. What can I say? Elias (11) dearly wanted to take a snack to camp that was all his own and not in the homemade granola or fresh fruit category, so I allowed him to spend $1 of his own money on whatever he picked out at the dollar store that wouldn’t give him an automatic cavity. He decided on a bag of Bugles.
As you can see, after taking this picture I promptly walked back out of the kitchen and began writing a blog post about my mess instead of taking the time to clean it. Hey, I’d been working hard and needed to sit for a while, plus writing sounded like more fun than scraping smoothie gunk off the countertops.
The suitcases were placed by the front door with care,
In hopes that we hadn’t forgotten anything.
Seriously, I should just get back in there and clean the kitchen. And also, I should never, ever compose Christmas songs.
Update: I wrote this last Friday afternoon while avoiding my kitchen. You’ll be happy to know that the kitchen was sparkling when we left for camp. Or at least it was a level better than disaster. And those hoodies? I’ve already worn mine twice. So there.
Teresa Yb. says
Saturday morning my husband and six-year-old left to help out at our youth group camping trip 6 hours north. I packed up the one and four-year-old and headed four hours south for a wedding. Today the three of us are going north to join the campers for the end of the week. My kitchen looks like yours, and I have packed lots of fresh fruit and homemade granola bars :)
Lyndsay says
My boys always have jeans and a hoodie in their bags for church camp. Last year? They left when it was 95 degrees, and then a huge cold front came through and it rained and was in the mid 50’s at night every night they were there. They were warm, others weren’t. Cause you never know!
PS- They were the only ones with rain ponchos too….
Susan F. says
Lol! Love this. I learned a long time ago to have a range of clothes for at least three temperatures settings, sweating, comfortable and freezing. I live in Maine so all three can happen in one day. I chaperoned a group of girls at a church youth group outing when we camped on an island. Those kids were all wearing things from my overnight bag.
Rebecca says
Sounds like our house this week. I am packing three kids for camp, two to respite camp for kids with intense disabilities and one to grandma’s for the week. Plus everything must be labled for the boys, including bedding and i have to send meals for 6 days since both boys have a lot of sensory issues with food and eat limited things.
Husb and i are staying home, but will be doing a complete remodel of kids play space/ sensory room while they are gone, and i hope to paint the kitchen cieling too.
Karen S. says
I completely agree with you about the hoodies; you should always be prepared. :)
Cassie says
Y’all don’t happen to be at a camp in Missouri? My husband and 10 year old are at church camp at Camp Windermere. They are having a blast. Don’t think they’ve worn the jackets I made them pack either! HA! And, they took Beef Jerky and Pringles to camp with them!
Christina says
My daughters picked Doritos and Goldfish to take to camp last week. I figure if you only go on vacation or to camp once a year, it is ok to let them eat some “junk”. Hope your week at camp is a blessing to all. I usually find that when I do something I don’t want to, I am blessed more than I could have imagined!
Sibyl says
You are my kind if woman! Writing is always more important than having a sparkly kitchen. Not that I remember what that would look like. I always make them pack for “all eventualities” and I can tell you that when we stepped on a day cruise in the hot sun in Alaska one vacation, they were oh so glad, that I made them bring their winter coats (and hats, and mittens). It was freezing cold when we got close to the glaciers. Hope you had a great time!