My son started third grade this fall and one of the most exciting events for 3rd graders at his school is that they get to go on a 2 night camping trip with the entire 3rd grade class. For some students, this will be their very first camping trip ever... very exciting indeed... for the students anyway. For the parents, preparations for this trip was the source of greater than usual malay in seeking out and packing all the necessary gear and much anxiety as for many of us, this is the first time that our (now 7 and 8 year old) babies will truly be away from home... much anxiety indeed. ;-p Some of the girls' in his class even exchanged sleepovers leading up to the trip to help them prepare for being away from home.As soon as the trip was announced to the students, my son campaigned for me to go as a chaperon. This was no surprise to me as every time he has had a class field trip in the past, he has always asked for me to go. I'm not always able to go, but I always try. But this trip presented a greater problem for me as I would have to somehow find childcare for his sister, who usually just hangs out with me and comes with me to all of my appointments during
the day, not to mention all of the other projects that I've been trying to juggle lately. So I put the thought of chaperoning on the back burner. Besides, I was sure that some of the other parents in his class would volunteer to go. In every class, there are always a few "uber parents" (you know who you/they are) that have very demanding full time jobs yet are always miraculously available whenever there is a need in class. I've always admired them yet only dare to aspire to be a small fraction of the parent that they are. Surely, at least one among them would be signing up as a chaperon for this trip.Days before the trip, I received a message from a parent implying that no one from our class has volunteered to chaperon and claimed that she had heard that "I" had agreed to go. This was news to me! I decided that if there really was no parent from our class that could/would go, then I would indeed go as a chaperon. The next day, at a birthday party that most of the kids and parents in the class attended, I took a poll and discovered that only 1 lonely dad , who was not one of the usual "uber parents", volunteered. Relieved, I silently decided that I would not go as I also had a responsibility to my younger child (even though technically, each class is supposed to have 2 parent volunteers).
However, I was still curious as to why none of the usual "uber parents" were volunteering this time. So I found one them and inquired. This particular mom then proceeded to explain to me that she was fully prepared to go, but her daughter actually asked her not to go as she wanted to express her independence. My heart instantly sank as I realized that soon, my son will also be asking me NOT to go with him, NOT to be near him, be seen with him, etc., etc., etc. At that moment, I decided that I'd better go, as it may very well be the last time that I'll actually be "wanted" by my son.On the morning of the trip, I was greeted by many very grateful parents, who also told me that I was crazy for going, but that they were grateful and relieved nonetheless as most of the kids in class know me and are very comfortable with me (and were not nearly as familiar with the other volunteer parents). So off I went, with 54 screaming, yes screaming 3rd graders. I instantly developed an even deeper appreciation for the commitment, dedication, and insane willingness to subject their ears to daily punishment, that our teachers posses. Thank God for teachers!
The trip was for the most part, exactly what I expected it would be.
There was a constant and consistent supply of kids having meltdowns for various reasons ranging from my best friend just hurt my feelings, to some other kid snatched my ball, to the world as we know it is about to come to an end because I cannot open my water bottle or my zipper is stuck, to I want my mommy because I'm tired and this is no longer fun... Although the kids were mostly thrilled to be able to hang out with their friends in tents and play with flashlights, for the adults, the tents were well... tents, and the ground that we had to sleep on was well... hard and rather uncomfortable. 
The lunch provided by the camp guides which consisted of salame, bread and butter, Ritz crackers, Pringles, cheese and water was... unappetizing (although the kids didn't seem to mind at all). Even the weather was a little on the too chilly to be comfortable side. The one thing that surprised me, was how happy my son appeared to be throughout the entire trip to have me there. He asked to sit next to me each time we got on the bus even though he had various friends asking to sit next to him. He would approach me out of the blue just to hold my hand and walk a little with me. He even leaned in to give me a kiss every now and then without a single worry that he might be teased by his friends (which fortunately did not happen as I'm sure it would have otherwise been my last public kiss for a very long time). Although he is generally very sweet and affectionate with me at home and away from school, I was almost moved to tears several times at his sincere and genuine unabashed sweetness towards me in front of all of his buddies. He even went out of his way on his own accord to gather souvenirs to give to his sister. If only he could stay like this and never grow up...
Once back to civilization and more importantly, within cell phone range, my phone started buzzing and ringing off the hook with calls, messages, texts and emails from concerned parents. Amazingly, none of the kids from our class appeared to suffer from homesickness. Most of the melt downs came from the other 2 classes. As it turned out, all of the concerned parents in our class had nothing to worry about and much to be proud of. Upon arrival, I was greeted by the same grateful parents who were happy to see that I survived and appeared to have taken bets out on whether I would make it back in one piece or not. ;-p One of the parents again reminded me that I must have a few screws loose for agreeing to go on this trip. Another parent, after seeing how visibly exhausted I looked, asked if I would ever be willing to do something like this again. The honest answer is NO! I scored my brownie point and I'm done! ;-) However, I really would suffer it all again if I could only experience that same sweet little guy who actually still wants his mom around. After all, this is exactly why I left my corporate job, so that I could do crazy things like chaperon school camping trips.But now, I have to work on getting my daughter to forgive me for ditching her for 3 days! A mother's work is never done...
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