I am not very bright. I will be the first to admit that. So, that would explain why I agreed to chaperone a Girl Scout sleepover to an indoor water park to celebrate the 100th birthday of Girl Scouts. I have to pretend to be homeless and sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor in a room full over over tired and over wired 3rd graders. I don't even own a sleeping bag. Why would I? I own a home and a bed. I like to sleep there. Sara, of course, is thrilled and has already packed her bags several times. I am an old lady. I need my sleep. I need my sleep in a comfortable setting, not surrounded by 100+ screaming, giggly 8-9 year olds. I have prepared my husband for the fact that on Saturday, he will be dealing with 2 very tired and cranky females. I plan on coming home, locking the bedroom door and taking a very long siesta.
Sara came home Friday from school with an ear piercing infection. She didn't believe me when I assured her we would not be amputating her ear. The doctor prescribed antibiotics. I raced home, ripped out Christian's car seat to make room for extra girl scouts, threw our luggage in the car and headed to the water park. Our troop was 14 girls and 4 moms. I was terrified they would stage a coup and take over. Home base was a large conference room. Some women came prepared. They had food, water, snacks and blow up mattresses. This was not their first rodeo. I forgot to feed my kid so her dinner was cake and popcorn. We arrived at 6. We had 3 hours to kill before we took over the water park. Calling it organized chaos would be too kind. Picture 100 kids running around hyped up on sugar and mothers looking terrified and exhausted. And we haven't even started swimming. They swam from 9 to midnight. From midnight to 1a.m. was "quiet time". You can guess how quiet the girls were. They were racing around in their pajamas like balls in a pinball machine. Lights off was 1 a.m. My kid's regular bedtime is 7:30 p.m. She held up remarkable well. Apparently sugar, chlorine and adrenalin works for. The kids fell asleep pretty quickly. The moms weren't so lucky. Sleeping on a dirty floor in a sleeping bag surrounded by snoring moms, coughing kids, kids repeatedly 'shushing' each other is not a restful experience. Lights on was 7 a.m. Everyone looked like they have been in dark solitary confinement for weeks. I grabbed 2 sleeping bags, 4 sleepy girls still wearing pajamas and hit the road. I'm not sure I even dropped the right child at the right home. All I know is I had a nap in my future. Sara had a blast and can't wait to do it again. I told her we would do it again for the Girl Scouts 200th birthday. Until then, we will be sleeping at home in beds.
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