scouts

brans went to scout camp last week. not just any scout camp - a six day venture up to bear lake.

i interupt this posting to clarify my stance on scouting, for a moment...
ahem. i am fully supportive of the boy scouts of america. i even participated in cub scouts as a young girl. yes, cub scouts. not girl scouts. please don't be confused. (this may be in large part because i was the only girl in the neighborhood, and my mom was the den mother. and i didn't want to feel left out. but it served me well. at yw camp, i set the record for starting a fire the quickest - 2.7 seconds - with only flint and steel. and i may or may not have held the title of best knot tie-er in the land.) i have helped two of my brothers earn their eagle. i even help with scout fundraisers every year - from putting up flags at 6:00am on the 4th of july to spending a little too much money at our troop's silent auction. but all in support of a good cause. see, i am quite in favor of the scouting program.

i am all for supporting branson in his calling as assistant scout master. i continue my support through monthly overnight campouts - yes, monthly. as in once a month. twleve times a year. i'm still a little bitter about the christmas campout... why? why do you have to take fourteen scouts and their leaders away for a weekend the week before christmas? is there a valid reason? is it imperative to being a scout? i have a very strong argument that it is not. but i digress. i buck up and handle a night on my own once a month (ok, so maybe i stay with a friend, or have a sleepover with my sisters... but that is not the point.) but a six day camp about killed me.

literally, k i l l e d me.

in the two years and some months that i have known branson, the longest amount of time that we have been away from each other has only been a few days. even when he went home for the holidays - it was only about three or four days that i didn't see him, but we talked on the phone for several hours to bridge the gap.

so, a six day scout camp with basically no communication (he called me one night and the conversation went like this: "hey shan! my phone's almost dead but i just wanted to call and say i lov----" dead. so really, no communication) was a really, really, r e a l l y long time.

oh, don't worry - i survived. but just barely.

in the time he was gone, i got done several loads of laundry, had a few girl's nights, felt the most sick i have ever felt, encountered a rat in our backyard, drank sour milk and almost threw up, got nearly ran off the road by a bus, stayed late at work a few nights, and didn't sleep very well.

now, i'm not asking for a pity party - i know many have it far worse. like wives of men in the military. or single mothers. or widows. or michael jackson's children - but truthfully, i had a hard time with it. why the camp had to be six days is beyond me. i think a four day camp would suffice.

branson returned home safely... and tan. and he had a great time. which i'm grateful for.

but next time, scouters, can you please not keep my husband for so long?
thanks.