My First Day at Busy Bee Day Camp - June 10, 2011

Watercolors and Nose Boogies

My first task at camp was to head the watercolor table. Let’s create the mental image.  You know those itty bitty tiny tables and chairs? Imagine me sitting at a table with five Busy Bees.  A bowl of water sits in the center of the table; everyone has their own sheet of paper and a brush.  And three sets of paints, which included the colors of red, yellow, green, and blue, were to be shared by all.  I learned rather quickly that there is no such thing as moderation with little kids.  I tried to explain that only a dot of water was needed to work with the paints, but my instruction and, well, almost plea for them to use the paints correctly was just not going to happen. I was not in control at that time, and the situation got overwhelming. Now, for someone who has had experience with little kids, which is not the case for me, this would be an effortless task.  It wasn’t too far into our watercolor lesson that I started to feel the anxiety building in my chest.  It then became one of those slow motion moments where every action is exaggerated and there isn’t any sound. I was just left there watching a scene unfold in front of me. I just stopped. I looked to my right where two Busy Bees were slamming their paintbrushes into the paper and grinding them as hard as possible as if trying to dig through the table.  In front of me, two Bees were abusing the water bowl and paints.  They had managed to turn the three sets of paints into tiny pools of mud, and they had drenched their paper and workspace. The Bee to my left, like myself, just sat and watched the scene. He was not amused by what was happening, and I could tell he too was feeling anxious.  I would compare this scene to the part in the movie Mean Girls where Lindsey Lohan’s character is in the school cafeteria and she imagines everyone turning into wild animals. Remember this scene? Ya, that is kind of what was happening.  But it wasn’t too long after it started that it was over. They soon lost interest in the activity and left the table. My temporary state of paralysis and shock was over. It took me a little while, however, to figure out what the hell just happened.  I will tell you what happened. I got rocked and rolled by a swarm of Bees. I used to enjoy watercolors……

Now, I know that that whole experience sounded absolutely terrible and like I was terrified. It was terrible. And I was terrified. But my first day of camp was NOT a total and complete disaster. The kids are so freaking cute. I can’t stand it! Towards the end of the day I had the pleasure of a having a kid take my hand and wipe his nose boogies on the back of it. For some reason, some sick, unknown reason it made my day.