Scenic Routes

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Kelly and her classmates left on Monday morning for a fun week in the mountains, also known as "Outdoor Ed".

(I'm thinking, though, that because it's sort of a fog-forest that they go to, that a lot of the time is spent as "Indoor Ed", but I could be wrong)

She's been counting the days. It couldn't come soon enough. And I think that they are the last group to do it, what with it being nearly the END OF SCHOOL! (Eek, how did that happen?)

Of course, with all the preparations and execution of the big musical variety show last weekend, there wasn't time for packing until the Very Last Minute. And I didn't look very closely at the packing list, so there are a few things where she's just 'making do' with what we had around the house. I sure hope we didn't forget anything. When we got to school, all the other parents and kids were all "Good grief, Kelly! Is that ALL that you're taking? You sure travel light. You've done this before?"

Um, yeah, I may have pared down the list a wee bit. And culled any of the non-essentials, including the "heavy jacket' (it's MAY, people!), and the "Bathrobe" (It's WILDERNESS living! You don't go all posh with your robe and slippers in Banana Slug Land!), and "pillow' (When I was a kid, we had to make our own pillows out of branches and leaves!)

But in the end, the kids will all share around, and any missing pieces will be filled in, or ignored and forgotten.

At least, that's my plan.

And Kelly will be thanking me when she has to truck (by hand) all her own gear the quarter mile into the forest to the camp, and all her friends are struggling with the giant garbage bag that's holding the Antarctic-Grade adult-sized sleeping bag with extra body pillow, and the rolling suitcase that wasn't designed for forest trails, and the two extra bags for all the 'I might need this" stuff that 11 year old girls are wont to pack when not ruled by a stern-handed Draconian and Overbearing mother.

Yes. She will thank me.