Can I have a napkin, please?

Today Jackson started his first week of summer camp and I’ll admit it, I was a nervous wreck about it!  Why?  Because he has been out of school for several weeks now and he hasn’t done the best job of following directions at home.  Oh, and did I mention that camp this week is at Daddy’s works?  LOL.  So I was keeping positive thoughts as we drove to the zoo this morning and I showed Jackson my desk at work before we walked over to the zoo to get him all checked in.  The camp he is attending this week is called Crude Critters and I thought it would be a fun camp for him.  Here’s the description, “Why does an elephant blow his trunk?  Why do giraffes regurgitate their food?  Why do some birds poop on their legs? Animals do all sorts of things that may seem gross to us but are important to them.  Let’s find out about all their crude habits and let’s get grossed out!“  What boy doesn’t like gross stuff, right?  LOL.  Well, as long as it has nothing to do with spiders I guess! 

When we were standing there to get him checked in, it reminded me of being a kid on the first day of school.  We all remember that feeling of walking into our new class for the first time and not knowing where to sit or who to sit by.  Or the lunch room!  UGH!  I remember getting sick to my stomach with worry as a kid, “Will I know anyone?” or “Will anyone talk to me?”  The only thing different now is that I’m a parent looking at my kid worrying about him making friends or the other kids making fun of him and how can I protect him when I’m not there.  I know that this is part of growing up, but I so didn’t want to leave him today.

For my own selfish reasons, I set it up where I could come back (unknown to Jackson) to have lunch with him.  I really wanted to see that he was doing alright.  So at 12:15 p.m. I finished up my work and ran over to the lunch area and waited for Jackson to show up.  Here he came marching up the hill just talking up a storm and holding hands with a little girl.  He was so involved in his own conversation that he walked right past me and I had to call him back to me.  ;-)  He really wanted to sit with me and his new friend.  Unfortunately, there were no places left with three seats side-by-side and I had to ask the little girl if it was ok for me to sit with my son since I came over special to see him.  LOL.  She was very nice and ran off to sit someplace else.  So I asked Jackson if he remembered her name, which he didn’t.  So I started to tell him to find out this afternoon and tell me after camp when he said, “Actually Daddy her name is A – P – R – I – and I don’t remember the last part.”  “April?”  “Yea, that’s it!”  I was quite tickled the he couldn’t remember her name but could visualize her name tag to spell it!  Such a smart kid we have!  So Jackson and I both ordered the hot lunch which was french fries, chicken tenders, dipping sauce, and fruit punch.  Not the most nutricious meal, but still a kid pleasing meal for sure.  Jackson talked and talked about a feather that he found and how he crafted it into a bracelet with some pipe cleaners.  He was so proud of himself saying, “Now I have two bracelets just like Dad!”  So damn cute!

I was enjoying hearing about Jackson’s morning and how he was going to ride the train (you all know he LOVES trains) and then go to the playground after lunch that I didn’t even realize that we didn’t have any napkins.  So I looked around and didn’t see any.  Actually, I didn’t see any of the kids with napkins.  So I got up and asked one of the camp counselors where the napkins were.  “I don’t know but I was wondering the same thing because I need one too.”  So I went to another girl and she said, “We don’t have any.  We believe in conservation here.”  Really?  So were going to serve greasy chicken tenders and french fries to children with ketchup and ranch and bbq sauce and not give them a napkin because they are bad for the environment?  What is that expression…  “Who’s a guy have to screw to get some service around here?”  LOL!  What do y’all think about that?  I brought it to the attention of several staff members because I thought that was just ridicious!  I’m all for saving the world and we certainly do our part in our household to recycle, but I don’t think having a napkin is out of the question especially for children who are already messy!  *Stepping off my soapbox now*

Anyway, so at 4 p.m. tonight Peyton and I went back to the zoo to pickup “Ja Ja” from camp.  Here he came with the crafts he made for the day and he went on and on about the awesome time that he had.

He can’t wait to go back tomorrow!    Just 9 more days of camp to get through but I’m feeling pretty good about it after today!  Well, they are having pizza tomorrow and I’m hoping he doesn’t come home covered in pizza sauce because he didn’t have a napkin again. ;-) LOL!