Getting Old

Hello again. Sorry I have taken almost a week since getting back from being out of town to posting something. It is interesting how long it takes to get back adjusted after being with teenagers on a set schedule for a week.

Speaking of, let me tell you about my first 36 hours or so of camp. We left the high school parking lot at about 11pm for the overnight drive on a charter bus. Not so bad to begin with - until we realize that the air conditioning is not working on our bus. Luckily for me, I got a seat in the very back. Why? Well, the bus driver opened a ceiling window that allowed air in and I got a steady breeze. The bad part was that then all of the kids came rushing to the back to get some air. So I got NO sleep whatsoever until we stopped in Janesville, WI. We stopped to exchange buses and were there for about 45 minutes. Enough time to fully wake up. :)

Part 2 of the trip consisted of the trip from Janesville, WI to Detroit Lakes, MN (about an hour east of Fargo, ND). It was long and I still didn't get much sleep. I tried to lay on the floor a couple of times and ended getting around 3-4 hours of sleep. We arrived at Castaway around 1 PM and unloaded for our stay. We no more than got our stuff in our cabin when we were told we were to immediately go to the lake for tubing. As I went to put my contacts in I realized something was wrong with my left contact. When I went to check it, I couldn't find it. Yep, I lost it. The start of the day from hell.

Tubing was fun, but there was one thing. I love rides, like roller coasters and the like, but I don't do spinning rides very well. Of course, when you are tubing the driver moves in circles constantly to try and throw the tubers off the tubes. By the end of our session I was in a bad way. I nearly threw up in the lake at the end. We made it back to shore and I was woozy. My next bad decision was to go into the hot tub with all the other guys. Once in there my body started to overheat more than it already had from the bus ride and the spinning. I called it off and went back to our room so I could lay down for a bit. I laid down for a bit and ate a fruit bar. Didn't help.

After all of this we were supposed to go to a leaders meeting. I tried my best but I was sweating like a faucet was on in my head and I had to leave. I was done. I don't think I've ever felt so deflated and exhausted before. Another leader walked me to the infirmary where I laid down and tried to get back into shape. They brought me some dinner and I got some rest. After about 90 minutes I thought I could go to Club and get ready to watch my guys do the obstacle course. I made it through both and then we went back to our cabin....where my fateful decision of the night was yet to come.

The leaders always choose bunks by the door and so I did as I always do in that situation. But in this room the door opened right into my bed. So I thought maybe I should think about using the top bunk so the doorknob wouldn't crank me in the head. I got up on the top bunk and realized that there wasn't much room between the bed and the ceiling. Plus there was a huge ceiling beam that hung down right over the ladder. So I decided I would stay with the bottom bunk. I sat on the edge of the top bunk and went to get down like I always do. I slid off the bed and stepped on the bottom bunk with my right foot and then went land on my left foot. Somehow, something went wrong and when I landed my left foot got caught under me and all my weight proceeded to twist my ankle under me. Wow. The sound and feel of that moment made me think my ankle would be dangling from my leg. Luckily it wasn't , but it was bad.

The EMT trained camp staff came and looked at it and took me to the infirmary. They thought it was broken so a trip to the ER was in store for me. The x-rays were negative but I don't know how they could see anything through all the swelling. It looked like someone and stuffed an egg under my skin. They gave me a protective boot and crutches to get around and it was back to my room for the night.

The funny thing is - it totally turned around my week. When I was exhausted and nauseous, I did not want to be at camp. I wanted to go home and wondered why I was there. Once I cranked my ankle my mood totally changed for the better. I was smiling and joking and was ready for a great week. And a great week I had.....even though I couldn't do any of the water stuff. God does work in mysterious ways. :)

I just need to remember my age and be more careful....and not to get on top bunks anymore.