An Adolescent Organizes for Camp

When we'd go camping there's one staple I typically had with me: one of these, specifically one a lot like this, of course mine would have been blue 😉, at least a little bit blue. It might be one that I'd been using during the previous school year; it might be one from year's ago. It's where I kept everything. And I mean *EVERYTHING*. I'd often toss things in on a completely "just in case" basis. Oftentimes a craft project I'd been dilly-dallying on & wanted to continue tinkering with while away, would become one of the items. I'd throw in one of these. Do people still use them? {asks rhetorically} Something, for sure, that are down in sales, sort of like these, if not them, definitely these. I always had great difficulty with using them, moreover, with wearing them as my skin would quickly become agitated from the moisture build-up & sweat soon after I'd have it on.

I might throw in whatever concept of a pad of paper for a "journal" that I might have thoughts I wish I could have jotted down. Completely random things like paperclips, safety pins, some pencils, some pens, a rubber band or two might make their way into the tiny pocket on the front flap. Oftentimes just whatever I'd have loose around the top of my bedroom desk & maybe off my dresser too. After all, these were my "go to" items, that I kept at-the-ready in my room at the house - if ever I should need them, they'd still be all ready to go sitting right there next to the fridge in one of these.

One year I learned that this was an inherited "habit" as I kept it in the back corner of the pull out bed I'd sleep on, right next to the fridge. I'd recently walked out of the camper & was dilly-dallying about something at our camp site. Suddenly I heard Mom call out, "Does anyone have a rubber band?" Ok, so I don't exactly remember what the item was that she called out, though I believe it was a rubber band. She was helping someone repair something & diagnosed that a rubber band, or whatever it was, should do the trick.

She also knew that I had this sitting there. She didn't know exactly what all I had in it. {Shaking my head} I didn't even know what all I'd managed to mush between the vinyl & close together via the zipper. Though I was pretty certain I had one of what she requested. And I loved to help; I loved assisting & being able to be there. To have the answer; the ITEM. And I did.

She explained that she didn't want to call me out; that, as we could tell soon after, there weren't that many options around of who could help out. There were maybe five people at the camp site when she called out her request.

She didn't want to put me on the spot & that's why she asked, "Does anyone...?" She knew what I had: lots of knick-knacks & random things, which I did. She knew because it's the same sort of stuff she'd made sure to have along on trips when she'd been my age.

I'd never been good with having Mom "figure me out". She wanted to know her kids; I preferred being unique. Though I preferred more than anything to help solve issues. And that's exactly what I did that day. Because I'd tossed in a few rather handy rubber bands.

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