Sunday, June 08, 2008

Butterflies in our stomachs

Giselle and I are almost sick with excitement and trepidation: Monday morning is the first day of Girl Scout Day Camp and she'll be there for 7 hours a day all week long. And, as I'm sure that all y'all know, we home school so this will be the longest that she's ever been away from me in a 'strangers only' situation. Not only that but she'll be in a mixed-age group of girls ranging from 1st grade to 7th grade. We're hoping that she'll make some new friends to help replace the ones that have moved on and that she'll have a blast learning and playing all week. It definitely help her learn to step outside of her normal comfort zone.
I'm sure to step on toes here but this is the way I feel : I'm hoping that the older girls are all Scouts and not just 'regular public school' girls. I don't trust 'regular' pre-teens to not be snarky and rude and bossy and mean and catty and shallow and disrespectful of themselves (and others) and all those other things that I am doing my best to protect my INNOCENT daughter from.
Yes, I can't shelter her forever but I damn well will try my hardest to keep the sh*tty people away from her for as long as possible. She's a child for Heaven's sake and it's my job as her mother to help her to SLOWLY grow up to be a loving and caring and respectful and calm and thoughtful and balanced young woman.
I will NOT hesitate to pull her out if I feel that the atmosphere is harming her in any way. If she is uneasy about going back I will encourage her and help her to remember to use her tools and help her find her inner strength and continue to take her. But if she comes home sobbing...

1 comment:

Suz said...

I went to day camp as a girl scout and to a week-long camp when I was in 5th grade. I LOVED both! I bet she will too!!