Girl Scout Camp
Honest thoughts on Girl Scouts, Camp and a little bit of art from the weekend...
I’m gonna be honest, my kid doesn’t love girl scouts. She’s about half way invested. The cookie season in particular can feel like a bit much, especially when you’re talking about girls who are so young. Don’t get me wrong I’m all for entrepreneurship and supporting women but something about cookie season feels off and that’s with the least pushy leaders there ever were. In fact, her troop leaders are actually phenomenal and close friends to boot, which certainly helps but Girl Scouts still just doesn’t quite seem to be for us…
Until of course… it’s camp time.
Camp time to me, is what Girl Scouts is all about. It’s being in nature, ridiculous camp songs until you’ve lost your mind or your voice and watching a group of girls grow stronger together. Watching them show up for each other if someone is hurt or afraid, needing a hug or pushing fears aside to try something new.
That’s probably one of the best parts. Seeing girls who showed up to an activity that made them uneasy, take part by encouraging their friends and then decide for themselves they could do it too. In part thanks to the support of their troop and leaders, they took a breath and tackled the activity. Despite their fears… despite the uncertainty that they may have been feeling, they did it… and not in that peer pressure way that can happen… They did it because they wanted to all along. Every time they finished quite literally beaming with confidence among the whoops and cheers of everyone around. And if one of the girls didn’t decide to go for it, or maybe they didn’t go all the way, that support still showed up. That love and safety to be exactly who they are even when it wasn’t what the majority did was still there. No judgement, just friendship no matter what.
It was such a powerful thing to witness… to be apart of…
I went in not knowing what to expect and came out with my heart full beyond words.
The girls we were with were spunky and strong and had me laughing till I was almost in tears more than once. It was incredible watching them grow and having a chance to bond with them while also seeing their connections with one another flourish. Yeah, there were tears sometimes or a little extra spiciness that needed to be reigned in a bit. But more often than not, it was smiles and laughter and positive experiences.
And this is where it gets tricky. Because we planned to pass on Girl Scouts this coming year in favor of trying some other things but seeing what camp does for the girls… for my daughter, I feel stumped.
I can say this though, if you have a kid who asks you to go, if you can make it work, show up. It’s one of those experiences that can change you. A chance to learn from them or see things in a new light. It’s every bit as special as it should be and more and the opportunities for connection are boundless… and we could all use a little more connection.
Needless to say, I don’t have much work to share.
We celebrated my Dad’s 74th birthday over the weekend and I used some photos from Arches National Park to paint him something. I’m thinking of doing some more but we will see what time allows. Either way I had fun doing this and my daughter helped a little bit on some of it too.
My kids and I also spent a lazy Saturday morning watching Beth Spencer’s replay from her Butterfly Drawing Session. I always love joining her sessions when I can and I am hoping to do it more often this Summer. Maybe I will see you in there. Here’s a little of what we drew. My favorites ended up being the butterflies I drew with my non dominant hand in the beginning as a warm up.
My Daughter also snapped these towards the end of the session…
And last but not least, a little from the garden this week:
What’s blooming in your garden?
Until next week
xoxo,
Bec