Monday, June 23, 2008

How did this happen?

Now that the camps are upon us, I have the pleasure of attending the parent meetings. Those "mandatory" meetings we parents must attend before our precious little babes head off. The boy scout one was the usual, bring clothes, sunscreen, etc. Nothing fancy here. Just the basics, just a bunch of boys heading off for a week of camping, fishing, and to be honest- a lot of learning.
All was good in my world. Then I headed to the meeting for youth group camp in Panama City Beach, FL....

When did I get old enough to sit in a meeting where PDA is discussed????? I was sitting there thinking, what? My little boy going to camp with girls...girls? PDAs (public/private displays of affection), threshold rules, bikinis? Wait a minute! Stop! He's not growing up, he's only 12. Do we really need to have this talk? DO we really need to go down this road? Then I think back to the last 15 year-old girl who I took care of, or the 14 year-old with a miscarriage, and I am reminded that we DO need to have these rules. We DO need to have these talks. We parents NEED to be in these meetings. Here's my soapbox: It would change a lot in this society if we, as parents, not only attended these meetings for camp, but held to these rules, at all times. There is nothing wrong with saying no bikinis, with saying no guys in the girls rooms, with saying keep your hands to yourself. Call me old fashioned, but I don't want to be that "grandma". I realize he's only 12, and girls are still gross, but the day is coming and if we set the rules now, could we stop a problem before it even starts. That's my thinking.

But when did I have a child that is now this old? This is only the beginning, I've got two more to go!! Help!

2 comments:

crispy said...

Um...my girls are growing up WAY too fast. UGH. I don't know how it happened, or when. They must grow when they are asleep.

I don't want to have that "talk" with my kids either.

Anonymous said...

You should ask Adam the things we used to discuss! I can still see him rolling his eyes. But now he's been married to his high school sweetheart for 5 years and gave me my first granddaughter! It's worth it!