School in the Wild...

With a son who's now in Middle School, it's been interesting and amusing (well, at least to ME) to reflect on how drastically things have changed since I was in 6th grade (oh-so-many...decades...ago). But this coming week, Derek will actually participate in a school-sponsored event that I myself experienced at age 11: the Outdoor Education Program. And while much of my pre-high-school time comprises a pleasant, fuzzy jumble in my memory bank, this particular extended field trip dredges up some pretty sharp pictures and stories for me.

Here are the details that stick out the most: my 6th grade class took buses to a Nature Center of sorts, located in the Catoctin Mountains west of Frederick. We stayed in basic cabins--unheated, with bunk beds--and ate meals all together in the Dining Hall. During the days we were there, we studied in the Open Air Classroom, observing plant and stream life, learning about ecosystems, attempting to navigate through the forest (more on that later), etc. Although we went in October, I distinctly recall that we got wet more often than I preferred (which is approximately, oh, never) and that I felt extremely cold the entire time we were there. As for specific lessons--there was one day we were divided into small groups, taken out into the woods somewhere, and instructed to find our way back to the main camp using our compass. The lone helpful piece of advice I remember was "By the way, this land borders on Camp David (yeah, that's right, the famous Presidential Retreat)...so just be careful not to wander in there." Oh, sure, no problem! While my group successfully avoided being shot by Secret Service Agents, the only thing we did manage to locate was...a paved road. Eventually, though, we were retrieved by a truck from Camp Greentop and returned in time for dinner. (Believe it or not, these are fond memories...although you'll notice I did not leap to volunteer as a chaperone for Derek's class trip! Let someone else do the time...I mean "bond with their child in the Great Outdoors"!)

So on Monday, Derek will depart on his very own Outdoor Ed excursion. We had one of those touching Mother/Son moments when discussing what he should pack:
Me (reading off the list of items suggested by his school): "Chapstick, you have one of those, right?"
D (half disdainful, half horrified): "Ugh, I don't wanna bring chapstick! Why would I do that?" (You know, like I was recommending he bring along fuzzy pink slippers and sparkly shampoo, or something.)
Me (reasonably, reassuringly): "It'll be chilly, your lips will be dry--and don't worry, you have non-girly chapstick..."
D (hysterically): "My friends will make fun of me and probably chuck me off the mountain! Hey, loser, you brought chapstick, hahahahahaha!" (Oh, for the love of Pete, you win, forget the stinkin' chapstick, then!)

I almost set him off again when I pulled out his one and only pair of fleecy pajamas (covered in a guitar print--very cute...but maybe not so very...shall we say..."manly"?) and told him I thought he'd be freezing during the night without them. "Moooom" he groaned, "NO!" (Okey-dokey, it's your cold tush, pal!) Fortunately, we filled his duffle bag without further incident after that. (One of those frequent times I am thankful he's a boy: "toiletries" = deodorant. Done!) It occurred to me that it's actually the first time in his life he will be away from home by himself. I suspect that's going to be weird for ALL of us. But I know he's going to have an awesome time. He'll study the environment, and research all kinds of natural phenomena, and hike. (Hey, I'll bet these days when they drop kids off in the woods, they even give them a GPS!) And no matter how cold, damp, and tired he returns home, he'll have tales to tell his own kids in 20 years or so!