Trust Exercises

A million (7) years ago I was a counselor at a youth camp in the woods of Millboro.
It was one of those cabin type sleep away Camps like the ones you see in the Parent Trap. Here girls’ ages ranging from age 8-13 lived in a cabin for a week with older 19-21 year old counselors.

The financial range was split right down the middle. Since it was sponsored by the Elks lodge, my girls’ financial background was split 50/50. Half of them were rich children sent away to give their wealthy parents a week long summer break. Spoiled mini-Paris’s who would cry about missing TV, soda, and sedentary lifestyles. The other half were not at all spoiled, sent to be spared a week of the stresses that plagued them in the real world. No parents, foster parents, or ailing parents just food, sunlight, and fun. Happy to eat cheese crackers and drink Kool-Aid until the cows came home.

I am a bit of a cynic, I’m definitely not depressed, I just refuse to wear the rainbow glasses that others seemed to be handed at birth. I’m literal. I think this view helped me fit in with these girls for my four-week stay.

I’m not a teacher, or a childcare expert. But I think, children respect honesty even in its most blunt of forms. And too understand some of my girls, you have to understand that some had already begun to take off their rainbow glasses and shook off the tinkerbell powder already.

Our head counselor Kara often separated our girls into age groups for activities so they could befriend other like minded girls and be athletic and social for a few hours of the day. We had teamwork builders, physical activites, and my favorite TRUST builders.

Trust time was Kara’s pet activity. At this particular time, I think Kara fought to get the companionship from children that she could not find in her adult counter parts.

Here is how trust time went:

The counselors and their respective groups would gather in front of a 3 ft tree stump. Kara would select a lucky contestant at random (I say at random tentatively, her ass would pick the smallest girl in the groups) to stand atop the stump with her back facing the group. Kara then would dispatch us into two lines. Usually with counselors in the middle – that way should the other girls faulter; the counselors (with their canary-like arm strength) could catch the brunt.

With everyone in place, The shutzpah came –
“ I have done this thousands of times, Girls. Before we can be friends we must learn to trust each other. Now, just let yourself fall………”
Then the Midget would fall backwards and the group would catch her. The girls would marvel at their own strength and then volunteer to fall off the log and be caught. Time and time again every counselor’s group would it’s members, no matter the size. And the grand finale, was that the girls would catch Kara.

I thought holy shit! I pictured myself falling into my high school friends them letting go and then it went something like those fall dreams you have, where you suddenly wake up and grab your arms and legs to see if you really did fall.

Kara was in fact a petite 22 year old. She had a wirely 122lb five foot 4 frame with long brown hair and eternal short bangs that I’m pretty sure she’ll be buried with. She was proud of her whistle and clipboard and that at long last she had those, she had power over someone or so she thought.

Enter my girls.

We lined up with my 7 cynical 13 year olds. Several of them during this particular week were from Shelter homes scattered over VA. I had no privileged Elks children this session and it was evident though their sallow eyes. None of them volunteered to be caught. My girls attacked Kera’s optimism at every weak point. Baiting her with questions to which she could only answer in wishes, rainbows, and butterflies. To Karas defense, we were not always allowed to answer “the truth.” I just preferred to say, “we can’t talk about that here”, no unicorns.

Kera went through the line, looking for the small girl, but there were none. They all were at least 5’5 to 5’7. Weighing in between 138 (smallest) to 240 something. I have to admit, I was not sure my group could catch any of it’s own members. So Kera stepped forward and hopped up unto the stump. For whatever reason Kera placed me and the other counselor at the foot of the line versus the middle. I thought odd at the time since we were still the oldest, but hey what do I know.

She crisscrossed her arms closed her eyes.

And fell back …….and was GREETED WITH unconsciousness.

My girls let her GO! Me and Lauren were left holding Kera’s shoes in the air.

The next too noises haunt me in my sleep.

1. One of my girls laughed like Nelson on the Simpsons (an exact mimic) “Ha Haaaaaaaa!”

2. “Poooomp” The sound of Karas head hitting the stump of the tree.

And the inappropriate timing and sound of my own giggling as ALL the kids gathered to rouse Kara.

Don’t worry she lived.
But I doubt she’ll be doing anymore trust exercises anymore.

My girls had been dropped all their life.
Moral of the story, get up and trust yourself!
It’s not other peoples job to catch your lazy ass all the time.