Field Trip?!?!?!

Today Drew’s camp had their first FIELD TRIP!!! I’ve barely come to terms with swim lessons, and now you are going to throw a field trip at me!!?? There’s two overwhelming thoughts that came to mind.

First is that I clearly have to keep him at home. He is not ready for a public outing, on school buses that have to drive on the highway much less, and then being supervised by a bunch of teenage/college kids. He doesn’t have the maturity to handle a privilege of this magnitude. I, Mother Bird, must protect him.

I recently read a quote, “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” The feelings, intense emotions that come associated with your children can at times make all rational thinking go out the door. I’m not saying that my feelings of Drew not being ready for a field trip are completely irrational but I’m already anticipating the comments of how you have to let your children try out the world. Until you actually experience that little being from your flesh and blood (your heart) go out into the world in such a vulnerable way, it’s hard to make judgments. It’s also hard to wrap your head around these feelings when your kids took these steps so long ago and they are now conquering much larger barriers like driving a car or college. Just trust me, although I am very over-protective and nutty, making the decision to entrust teenage camp counselors with your most prized possession is HARD!!!

So this brings me to the second thought, he must try and tackle these things at some point. His mommy can’t hold his hand forever. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So I waited until the absolute very last second to make the big decision. And it’s so good that I chose the way I did because look at what he got out of his trip to Lamb’s Farm…

I clearly wouldn’t have wanted to deprive him of that.