Rain, Rain Go Away

The girls came home from Program Aide camp with lots of stories about their weekend. I worried a lot about their weekend. Friday night was chilly, but dry. Saturday morning started dry and then the rains came. And, when I say the rain came, I mean it was a mix of torrential downpours and thunderstorms and light rain. The water started Saturday afternoon. When they arrived at home Sunday afternoon it was still raining.
The brunette twin said it was boring at times. They were supposed to be outside most of the time, but the rain made that impossible. The camp counselors did their best to keep the girls engaged indoors instead. As Program Aides, the Cadettes worked with the Junior and Brownie troops. They helped the girls with different activities to earn their service hours.
The blond twin talked about the sleeping arrangements. It seems the girls were able to have fun even though they were not in the promised cabin. The twenty girls sorted into different groups based upon the topic of the moment. Before we left, I told our troop that they had to make sure that every girl was part of the adventure. Program Aide training was an individual activity. It was unusual to have an entire troop show up together.
The girls told me that they managed to be friendly with all of the other girls. This didn't surprise me a lot. The five girls have very different interests. Between them it wouldn't be hard for them to have something in common with another girl. From what I heard, the alliances changed regularly depending on who was doing what or the topic being discussed. It sounded like they were able to include the other girls in the weekend activities.
I was proud of them as they talked about their work with the younger Girl Scouts. It was lovely to hear them talk about the different projects.
On the other hand, every time they come back from a weekend away, I wonder why we do it. They return overtired and overstimulated. The reintegration into our household is always painful. Yet, I can't wait to send them away again. The experience they gain is worth the rough return.