Summer of...Nothing??

So it looks like I'm not doing anything this summer. No Philmont. No Jamboree. No resident camp. Maybe I'll help my district out with Day Camp, and of course there are summer Pack activities. For most of you out there and to quote the always quotable Vizzini from Princess Bride, that is completely "inconceivable!" How could I let this happen? What do you mean you're not going to Jamboree? Not going to Philmont? And you call yourself a scouter? Please hand back your Silver Beaver. Thank you for playing.

Don't worry. I don't need any of you to beat me up about this - my healthy Catholic guilt has me ready to crawl under a rock now that I've revealed my deep dark secret. I completely understand if  your opinion of me had just dropped exponentially.

But to be absolutely honest with you, the real truth is, I'm a little excited at the prospect of maybe taking a week's vacation and actually getting rid of a lot of the junk in my house that I've been accumulating, waiting for a minute when I have time to clean up. Just looking in a space in my bedroom, I am aware of two broken hairdryers. Two!! I don't know why. Just haven't gotten rid of them. I'm almost always in between upcoming scout activities and haven't done a really good clean-out in a couple of years. 

Don't get me wrong. If I got a call tomorrow to come to Philmont to teach - I don't think I'd pass up the opportunity. It just didn't happen this year. And if there suddenly opened up a way for me to staff Jamboree, I would probably jump at the chance.

One of the reasons I love summer so much is the end of the school routine. No more "do you have homework?" or "did you do your homework?" or "what's coming due in the next week" or "what tests or quizzes do you have?" I never miss these question and mourn the middle of August when I know they will begin again.

I have been dreaming about the prospect of taking a family camping trip locally. We haven't done that in a few years. My schedule has just been too tight. The thought of just sitting around the campfire with my husband and children or drinking a cup of coffee outside our tent as we considered our options for the day is actually thrilling. Also, I've lived in the Washington area my entire life and there are Smithsonian museums and other sites I have never visited.

So many prospects. Holy cats! I could read books! I really want to get my hands on a copy of Lady Olave Baden Powell's autobiography "Window on My Heart." After having the honor of portraying the great lady, I really want to get to know her better.

At present, it's all still a little up in the air. It's not completely comfortable, but I'm becoming more at peace with this. While it's not my first choice to have no major scouting event on the near horizon, and I don't plan to make this a habit, I am embracing the reality of the situation and plan to make the most of it.

I'll keep you posted.