It Is Good...

How many times have you heard a teen say, “my parent’s think they are so smart” or “my parents think they know everything” or my personal favorite, “I know what I’m doing”?
I love reciting that mantra over and over again with that high pitched shrill only a parent can get when they are in total control. Let me explain.
Several years ago, I took my preteen Girl Scout troop camping. We were at a private site that had permatents. (A permatent has a wooden floor, roof and three sides with a canvas tarp for the front.) We had cots on which to throw our sleeping bags, and our campsite came with a fire-ring, cut wood and latrines. Not the Hilton but we had camped before under more difficult circumstances. I would like to mention that the latrines were not of the flushing variety so that was our “roughing it” part of the trip.
Three adults (myself, my assistant leader and a leader of another troop) all bunked together with the girls divided out into the other permatents.
The reason for the camping trip was for the girls - for them to have nothing but pure fun and relaxation. They could do whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted (within reason – safety always came first). Being an “older” Girl Scout meant a lot of service – be it to the community, the younger Girl Scouts or themselves so it was important that these girls got a chance to unwind.
After we had arrived and set up camp we went about the start of our weekend doing the things that we just do. Shortly before bedtime, the three adults decided to get our things ready for bed. Imagine our surprise when we got to our permatent – only to find it had been TP’d! Those silly rotten little girls had used the entire camp’s toilet paper on the inside of our tent! There was so much paper hanging from the rafters – you couldn’t see to the back of the tent. Once we had stopped laughing and admiring the ingenuity of the girls, we pulled paper down, picked it off of our beds (folding it neatly) and then we sat down to figure out HOW to get even.
We had been brainstorming for about 30 minutes (stopping a few times to listen to the giggles outside our tent) and still could not come up with the ideal plan. And then it fell into our laps with a loud thud (actually that was me falling over with laughter).
I had gotten up and told all the girls to get ready for bed. They went about their business of spreading out their sleeping bags, getting their pjs, toothbrushes, and wash cloths. They all went and stood in line at the latrines when they realized the position they were in. They didn’t know what to do and begun whispering amongst themselves, while we sat in our tent and smiled. Once they got their nerve up and came and ASKED for some toilet paper, the other leader smiled brightly at the girls and began telling them about “low impact” camping, all the while she tore off (one square at a time) paper and handed each girl a sheet. The look on their faces was priceless.
Ahhhh yes, it’s good to be queen.