Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Confession Wednesday: I Have a Very Bad Feeling About This...
Job's Daughters from all over the state get together and have fun for three days in the middle of the state in the exciting town of Visalia.
(It didn't used to always be in the same place. It used to alternate between North and South. But now it's just sort of easier this way.)
(Especially for the people that live in Visalia.)
(Although I really don't know why anyone would.)
Anyway, it's this weekend. We leave Thursday morning. I used to go every year when I was a kid. Then I moved away to Utah and skipped it for a few years before moving back to Cali and getting roped in, thanks to my mom. I'm in charge of our local "bethel" now, which means I have to go.
The last two years have been pretty good. We only took 3 girls each time, and they were more or less forced to get along since they were all confined to the same hotel room. There were also only two chaperones. Myself and another mom. It was very easy to shuffle people wherever they needed to be when our group was so small.
This year, we're taking 7 girls. They'll be in two hotel rooms. Making room assignments was a lot of fun. So and so can't be in this room with her because they'll fight. And these two can't be together because they'll fight. Oh, and you definitely don't want those two in a room together because they'll...probably kill each other.
Sigh.
And then there are the chaperones. I can't tell you how grateful I am that my mom is coming with me, because I'm going to need her there when I'm ready to start pulling my hair out. Or any one of the 7 girls' hair out. We're also taking two moms with us.
This is where I'm getting really nervous. The two moms are pretty new to Job's Daughters, which is fine. I'm glad they're coming so they can really get the full scope of what this crazy organization is all about. It's going to be good for them and helpful for me in the long run.
What concerns me is the fact that I made a very definite, absolute, hard and fast rule that I will confiscate any I-Pod or cell phone that I see. Period. No one is bringing them. The girls are supposed to be interacting with each other, getting to know each other better, learning to keep themselves entertained. I'm a big fan of technology, don't get me wrong.
(And yes, like the true hypocrite that I am, I'll be bringing along my laptop. Sue me.)
(But, honestly, it's for perfectly valid reasons. Like looking up what the heck there is to do in Visalia on a Saturday afternoon when we have nothing to do.)
(And checking my email.)
(Like I said, hypocrite.)
But, anyway. I heard through the grapevine that one of my chaperones is planning on telling her girls to bring their I-pods anyway and just be careful not to let me catch them. I can deal with the problem. Mom doesn't know that I know that she told her girls this. And she's not going to find out.
I have eyes like a hawk. And ears like a...like something with really good ears.
I'm just going to have to watch their every move and catch them in the act. I warned them. I was very clear. What really bugs me is that this mom would try to blatantly undermine my authority instead of just talking about it.
Remember yesterday when I talked about communication?
Ugh. I just think I'm in for one big old mess this weekend and I'm not excited about it. At all. I'm sort of dreading it, really. And what sucks even more is that I'm using vacation time for this.
I'd so much rather be heading to Hawaii.
**Hey, so I'm sort of thinking of turning this Confession: Wednesday into, like, a thing. So if you know of anyone that knows how to make those cute little buttons and stuff, could you let me know? Because I'm not savvy when it comes to designing graphics and creating things with html code. That would be great!**
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I don't envy you! I had a party for my daughter's drill team for Christmas. Granted, there were 32 fourteen and fifteen-year-old girls in my family room, but it was only for two hours. I can't imagine spending an entire weekend with even just seven of them! Good luck and try your best to have a good time! I'll be thinking about you.
ReplyDeleteWait, what is Job's Daughters?
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting post. You wrote: "Mom doesn't know that I know that she told her girls this. And she's not going to find out." The interesting things about this is that later you wrote: "What really bugs me is that this mom would try to blatantly undermine my authority instead of just talking about it."
It sounds to me that the "big old mess" that you anticipate being in this weekend could be avoided by simply talking with the mom about it all.
Remember what you wrote yesterday about communication?
By the way, the animal is bat...ears like a bat.
--Robert
Oh my, I will be thinking of you and sending you positive and peaceful energy! I taught for years, but you couldn't pay me enough to take seven teenage girls away for a weekend, WITH parents! That may be the worst part.
ReplyDeleteDon't rabbits have good ears? With the carrots and all? Err, is that eyes? Funny anyway!
ReplyDeleteWhoa. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteNo cell phones to people used to having them around is kinda tough. Whenever I've hit the road without my cell, I freak thinking something is gonna happen where I'll need it.
If anyone brings any electronics, maybe they'll just use it for the traveling portion to pass the time and not once you arrive there. Hope it all works out without a huge hassle between you and them.
Good luck. Can't say I envy you.
ReplyDeleteLW: I can handle a few hours. It's the 24/7 for 3 1/2 days that's going to be hard. If I could send them all home every night, not so bad!
ReplyDeleteKristina: It's a girls' youth group. They have it in Utah, too: www.iojd.org.
Robert: I understand the paradox and it does sound like I'm avoiding communication. But the problem is that I found this out through a third party and don't want to cause problems there. So I will be discussing this with the mom. As soon as I confiscate the contraband. If they actually bring it.
Janet: Thanks! I really don't know how my mom has done it for all these years! She used to be one of the advisors when I was a kid.
Kel: They sure do have NICE ears! I don't know if they hear well or not!
Akilah: Yeah, I had thought about allowing stuff for the car. And I still might. Provided they turn it in when we get to the hotel. Gah! This is tough!
I am going out on a limb here and feel that this is going to be much better than you anticipate....and I too would feel "shafted" if I heard that from the grapevine. So totally normal to be dreading the situation.
ReplyDeleteI probably would be upfront with the person(s) and say, "look......it doesn't matter where I heard this from but I would appreciate it if you supported my wishes about the iPod/cell phone deal. It sends out a message to the girls that sneaking around is OK.....and I cannot imagine that you would want them to sneak around you in the future"
I think if you deliver it politely, it might be well received.
then again....I don't know these people and it might bite you in the butt, LOL.....
Good Luck Karen! I'll be thinking about you!
xox
So no iPods at all? Never? No phones? Could you maybe give them a few minutes to make a call or decompress with their iPod? I don't know. I am just thinking about when I coached pommers and how those girls needed those things like I NEED my laptop. But then again, I don't completely understand the whole trip, and if the whole point is to bond and interact, then you are probably right. Just putting it out there. Playing Devil's Advocate is my favorite pasttime. Well. Next to blogging of course. ;)
ReplyDeleteMichelle: That's really probably the best way to approach it. I've just been trying to protect one parent who's doing the right thing from the wrath of another parent who's not. But sometimes there's no way around it, I guess.
ReplyDeleteGina: I know! I'm cruel! The reason I made the rule was really mostly for two girls in particular. In retrospect I could have made a bit of a compromise, but I figured I'd just stop the problems before they start. Only then it caused another problem. I just can't win!
That's just downright awful that the other mother is undermining your authority like that. If she feels it's a harsh rule, she should've just come to you and spoke to you directly about it to see if you both could come to an agreement on it.
ReplyDeleteI'll see if I can come up with a cute button for Confession Wednesday.
ReplyDelete