When Did I Go Back to Jr. High?

Last week while I was at camp, I experienced something I don’t think I’ve experienced since the 8th grade…someone getting in my face. I think just about every girl out there knows what I mean. Some girl who thinks she’s all that, confronts you asking why you’ve been spreading rumors about her (or whatever her issue is). Often, this results in some sort of cat-fight that gathered a crowd.

Here is what I don’t understand:

1) I’m 31 years old…well past the age of petty teenage girl “issues”. My confronters were 16 & 17 and campers in my cabin!!! How stupid to mess with the person that dictates how late you get to sleep in the morning and has the power to make you clean toilets!

2) The “rumors” they accused me of spreading, were about their behavior that week (being late to everything, wearing things they weren’t supposed to, not being where they’re supposed to be, talking on their cell phones, etc.) and they couldn’t deny that they did any of it. As for “spreading” the so-called rumors…I don’t call discussing cabin issues in a staff meeting and looking for guidance on what to do next “spreading rumors”. I have no idea how any of this got back to them, but I’m sure it was some well-meaning counselor trying to steer them in the right direction (didn’t work by the way).

So after a LONG heated discussion about their behavior and their attitudes, we came to the agreement to start fresh the next day. Here is the kicker…one of the things they accused me of saying about them was that they were planning on sneaking out. I told them we were told by other counselors that they had been over-heard talking about sneaking out and that we should keep an eye on them. They PROMISED me that they would never sneak out, they were too afraid of getting caught.

Jump forward 24 hours or so. The entire next day, they had been sleeping in the cabin every spare moment they had. And on some occasions, when they shouldn’t have been in there. But instead of getting on their case AGAIN, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. We had a feeling they were up to something, but they promised me they wouldn’t try to sneak out, so I took their word for it.

That evening, after we got back to the cabin from the devo, there were about 5 of them (these two included) that were just acting suspicious. As a result, I had a hard time falling asleep because every time a bed moved, etc., I was awake. Finally sometime around 2 a.m. I fell asleep. My co-counselor, Jessica, came in at 4 a.m. from her “night-watch” duties. At 4:30 in the morning, we were all awoken by 5 girls sneaking out the door. Fran yelled at them asking them where they were going and they were out the door. Oh, it was ON!

Fran & Jessica jumped up and put on clothes and took out after them (I got the job of keeping an eye on the rest of the girls since I was sick and already sleep deprived). These bright young things were not too bright after-all. They were caught within minutes and couldn’t understand how they got caught (hello, the cabin door sticks! It always wakes us up when it opens.) I joined them in the mess hall shortly after and following some more heated discussions, they were informed that they would not be sleeping for the rest of the day and would spend their rest time serving others.

To be honest with you, I wish they had tried sneaking out earlier in the week. They were on their best behavior the rest of the day and were actually for the first time all week, enjoyable to be around.

Plus side to all of this, I got to see my first sunrise in about a year. It was beautiful.