I always look forward to picking Joshua up from camp...for many reasons. I mean, I miss him terribly during the week he is gone. He is my little shadow here...he's almost always with me, and so when he's not, I constantly feel like I'm forgetting something.
The main reason I enjoy being the one who picks Joshua up from camp is that that is when he tells his stories (I may do a post or two on some of his stories, so that the posts aren't obnoxiously long). No matter what Joshua does, when he comes home, he will recount what he did...step by step, moment by moment. Usually, he starts with what he had to eat, because, yall...the boy loves a good meal. But I am serious when I tell you that he literally talked for 4 hours and 12 minutes on the way home...only taking a break when we stopped at Braum's for lunch.
*And, side note, we were eating at Braum's on the way home...Joshua, Logan and I...and, as usual, Joshua said the blessing before we ate our lunch. At one point, I got up to refill my drink. I had noticed a couple of older women sitting at the booth next to us, but they were talking with each other and not really even looking our way. Or so I thought. While I was up getting more drink, I noticed the 2 women had gotten up to leave. They had stopped by our table and were talking to Joshua and Logan. When I got back to the table, Logan said that the women had come up to Joshua and said, "thank you for praying for your meal...we were praying right along with you." Joshua is a stickler for saying the blessing before we eat every meal...and it doesn't matter if we are at home or in a restaurant. I love that about him. In his mind, there would never be an inappropriate time or place to publicly thank God for our food. It was a reminder that someone is always watching...
So, yeah...he talked the entire way home. OH MY WORD. I kept looking in the backseat and begging Logan with my eyes to PLEASE ABSORB SOME OF HIM for me. A person's mind just gets weary after a while because it was the same thing over and over and over. And I was driving. I honestly have no idea how we made it home. Every time I would look in the backseat, Logan would be all, like, fake sleeping.
Whatever. I'll get him back. There will be a day...one day...
Actually, Logan did drive some and listened some...and it was nice.
Most of Joshua's camp stories involved Jenni. Apparently, the two love-birds got in trouble for smooching...ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION. Eeek! I think I stated in a previous post that each camper has a special helper, called a CIA, who is with them 1 on 1 for 23 hours a day. So, to get in trouble for smooching (or anything else), you have to be pretty creative. I'm here to tell you that Joshua and Jenni could transport secrets for the government. Seriously, you could be watching them like a hawk and the next thing you know...they have disappeared. They are so fast! So, I'm not saying anything negative about the CIA. She apparently DID catch them and DID get onto them for kissing, to which Joshua replied, "she asked me to...and she LIKED IT."
Oh, did she now?
Another time, according to Joshua, Jenni asked for more kissing time...and they were caught. Again. Joshua's CIA got onto him and Jenni's CIA got onto him. He said, "Jenni ran off, but I stood there and took it like a man." Actually, there is another variation on this story as to who ran off (ahem), but I got it from the horse's (CIA's) mouth. Later that night, the Cabin Dad talked to him in a firm but caring way about what behavior was appropriate and expected at camp. And Joshua and Jenni have been going there for 10 years. They know, man...they know. Apparently, Joshua told the Camp Dad, "well, I'm 27 and she's 25 and we are in love and you can't tell us what to do in our relationship."
Eeek!
The last night of Camp, they have the "cross carry" which is a very emotional time for most of the campers. There is a large cross at camp that has little metal plates on it that have the names of campers who have gone to be with Jesus engraved on it. The cross is then passed thru all the campers and they are all given the opportunity to pray for the families of those campers, or others, or just take time to remember those they've lost. Just this year, the camp family lost at least one person...so it's personal for many of them. And it's also a deal where some will get upset when they see others get upset.
Anyway, Jenni is one of those who gets very upset at the cross-carry. She was upset and Joshua wanted to "hold and comfort her." His CIA (wisely) said, "no, she needs her personal space." To which Joshua replied, "no she does NOT need her personal space (and did the "air quotes"). You don't know what she needs because you have never been in love with a guy. You've probably never even HAD a relationship because you are from CHICAGO. She doesn't need her personal space (air quotes)...she needs her MAN."
"He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy." (Job 8:21)
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