So when i started this blog, my plan was to document my experience being a camp fire leader (did you know that?) well my first year had some regular posts on all the mishaps and adventures i had trying to figure out what the heck i was doing. Can you beleive it's been 7 years now? AND i have TWO groups? The interesting thing is that i not only have two groups, am the LEADER of TWO groups, i actually run about every single second of said groups. The few leaders i know who have tackled having two groups aren't crazy enough to actually run them both without some serious help OR to be the co-leader of one while leading the other. i think it makes a big difference and why my journey has had more ups and downs than most.
so what have i learned? so much, so much. for one, i could probably be the ceo or big time manager of a corporation now. here is my list: i know that you never ever ever say what you really really are thinking most of the time. i know that people will say they are coming, text you they are on their way and never show up. i know that some events with 30 people invited will have 2 attend and some have 45 (??) plan for either, that i have learned. i learned to spend as many hours as it takes in the summer at my leisure to plan the entire coming year AND actually write in every event on the calendar and just go with it no matter what. i learned that canceling a meeting makes some people grumpy and some people happy. i know now that in this economy, people aren't buying candy like they used to and not to take it personally. i learned that my passion to overcome whatever competition and downright hostility the girl scouts feel toward camp fire has burned out and i cannot build that bridge (at least for now). i learned to use every resource possible during a crazy out of control meeting (parents, older siblings, whoever) to try and bring it back together. kindergarten kids can only sit still and be quiet for a minute at a time and never the same minute as the kid sitting next to them. i know now that paint + kids = a horrendous mess that will find you picking paint out of your nails and hair for a week. i learned that a church who wants to do something for the community can up and dump you one week before your meetings start up again (after 6 uneventful years) because they dont have space for your 11 or so kids but will let the boy scouts continue to meet there with their 100+ kids. i have learned that when the leader of the group's child has a birthday party and she doesn't invite all of the camp fire kids (even if the plan is to keep it small, cheap, simple) and you post a photo on facebook of said party, that the kid or kids who weren't invited will most likely quit over the hurt feelings. there are going to be some parents who 1) say i favor my kid at meetings calling on them more than others 2) tell me i am too hard on my own kid 3) roll their eyes during meetings and i have to figure out what the heck i did/said to offend them 4) tell me i am the most amazing leader BUT they aren't continuing in the group 5) will tell me that camp fire isn't cool enough for their kid 6) will dump me AND my kid for not being cool enough in their attempt to climb the social ladder at school 7) will sincerely become my closest friends and stick with me for years and years through thick and thin 8) will spend miserable nights camping on the hard ground in the drizzle, dust and bugs to give their kids a unique outdoor experience here in the city 9) will bring me coffee at the crack of dawn after the countless camp outs we do each year 10) will bring bushels of ice, bags and bags of food and anything else i request during day camp. i am sure this list could go on and on... i think that's it for now. wo he lo!!
