"No other species in the universe goes camping. Celebrate your own uniqueness." - Captain Jack, Torchwood

 

The Boy, earnestly appearing to be earnest, clad in all his Cub Scout spiffiness. I think The Boy is attempting to smile, but his expression looks to me like he’s dreading the bellybutton piercing The Mrs. is planning for him. I guess that’s what The Boy thinks happiness looks like.

The Boy and I are getting ready to camping this weekend.

The Cub Scouts are scooting out to some place or another (I’m really not sure where, but I’ve already paid – I’m pretty sure we won’t be going to a converted waste dump, that’s pretty much the territory of the “New Jersey Scouts” – you gotta problem with that?) but I’m also sure it’ll be fun.

One of the things I did tonight to get The Boy out of my hair harness The Boy’s creative energy was to have him compile a list of things we’ll need. Here they are, in the order that The Boy put them, spelling as intact as I could create it (my comments follow the items):

1. fashlight (I prefer a good fashlight when I’m camping. Keeps the wooves away.)
2. camra (I forgot to add this to my list. Good catch, The Boy.)
3. ALARM clook (Hmmm, he’s been a bit too citified.)
4. tint (Nice. Starting to get the picture.)
5. Food (Good.)
6. (a drawing of what looks like a washer and drier – still puzzling that one out)
7. TAPE RECORDER (To catch ghostly sounds. The batteries in that may die early.)
8. (a drawing of walkie-talkies, a probable Christmas gift that has really, really been on his mind)
9. 9. V. (9 volt batteries. Not sure what for.)
10. (a drawing of a notebook and pencil. So he can, well, umm, make more lists?)
11. (a drawing of a sign with “WARNING” on it, presumably to warn the wildlife that the Wilders are around)
12. (a Picasso-like drawing, cubist period)
13. (a drawing that looks like an ‘L’, which I believe to be a laptop, which we certainly won’t be taking)
14. (incomprehensible – wait – is that a knife, fork and spoon?)
15. (looks like cans of soda with straws)
16. (a drawing of AA batteries – dang – now I have to lose the tape recorder and the batteries)
17. OFF! (Good thinking again, The Boy)
18. 1 AID KIT (Impressed me.)
19. T.C,a (I’m sure this means something to him)
20. MONEY (The Boy’s figuring out the way the world works, isn’t he?)
21. UNIFORM (Go Scouts!)

All in all, a good list. I think The Boy did a good job, though I must admit to prompting him with a few questions, “What might we need if there are mosquitoes? What might we need if there are Democrats?” but mostly just told him to keep at it, and think what we might need camping.

The real genius of Scouting (in my opinion) is that there is always a good dozen reasons not to go camping on any particular weekend, but as a parent there is no good reason to not go this weekend. The Boy and I will be piling in the Wildermobile bright and early and heading off, leaving The Mrs. to care and feed Pugsley and Alia S. Pugsley is (mostly) pretty easy to care for, and I’m getting the hint that the ladies are looking forward to having the double X chromosome club ruling the house this weekend without much interference from the sweaty, smelly boys

Me? I’ll be trying to lose a tape recorder and a bunch of AA batteries without littering. The Cub Scouts hate the littering.