After taking a two hour nap, and waking up all warm and toasty, I honestly can't be entirely upset that my son decided he HAD to go home this afternoon.
But still, I am not happy about missing dinner tonight at camp, nor goofing off, playing cards, exploring, and taking advantage of all that Mitigwa has to offer.
However, if there is anything I know about my child, I know that to have pressed the issue would have made him even more adamant, upset, ticked off, uncooperative, and would possibly lead eventually to him deciding that it is not worth it to be in scouts at all. That would be a big mistake. In addition, if it had been any other kid, I probably would have called their parents to come and get them, too. There is only so much you can do if a kid is that miserable and upset.
Yes, we'd like the kids to tough it out, stay in the game, finish what they started, etc. That would be nice if they could do that, but sometimes, physical discomfort, especially cold, can magnify other events into something kids just cannot handle. If it had warmer out today, and if he had listened when I told him to wear his extra sweatshirt and snowpants, we'd probably be sitting around the wood stove, eating with our friends rather than sitting at home by ourselves watching something incomprehensible on Cartoon Network (anime puppets... very weird). When they are able to start a fire, splint a leg, and use a compass, sometimes you forget that they are, in fact, just kids of eleven to twelve, and 14 to 18.
And just in case anyone thinks I let him off easy,he's grounded from video games for day, and we are going to go help unload when the troop gets back tomorrow morning. He did not once complain about being grounded...
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