CFA Family Camp Real Love

I always maintained, that God is the best PA (Personal Assistant). He always manages to untangle my busy schedule such that meetings, functions and events just sort themselves out.  No fail.

February, though, felt as if it would put God's PA skills to the test.  It started with a call from my beloved manager that I had to go to Germany for a week.  Suddenly, my already full schedule just spilled over with this trip and another workshop I had to host in Manila as soon as I was back.

I quickly checked the CFA Homeschool calendar and breathed a sigh of relief.  Family Camp is slated for the Friday when I get back.  Good!  I just had to squeeze the workshop schedule, so that we close it on Thursday.  The schedule worked out, but it looked like I'd be crawling by Feb-end.

Thursday rolls in and we barely closed out everything we had to cover for the workshop.  The next thing I knew, it was already Friday midnight and I hadn't packed for camping.  I finally plopped onto bed at half past 2 am and, in a blink, my alarm was going off already.  We had to leave by 5:30 in order to be at the venue by the 7 am call time.

I ambled towards my son's room and knocked on his door.  He took one look at me and said, "Mom, what time did you sleep?"

"2, I think", I replied groggily.

It took him just half a second to say, "It's okay if we don't go, Mom.  Maybe you should just sleep.  You didn't sleep much all week."  I wanted to cry, marveling at the realization that my son would give up his favorite school activity, so that I could catch up on my sleep.

As tempting as the offer was, I knew I couldn't let him miss out on Family Camp.  We agreed, instead, to show up an hour late, so that I could get in a bit more sleep.  It was a long drive and I couldn't risk falling asleep on the wheel.

When we got to Quest Adventure Camp in Antipolo, we were happy to find out that we only missed breakfast and were right on time for setting up tent.  As we were late, the only available parking space was quite a walk from our camp grounds.  But God, as always, sends help when we need it the most. One of the camp personnel was passing by our car as we were unloading and offered to help carry some of our stuff.  He went the extra mile and even helped set up our tent!

After that, we threw ourselves into the flurry of activities.  But, by the time we concluded Mass at 3 pm, I was cross-eyed with sleep and I had to bail out on the rest of the afternoon activities.  Thankfully, my almost-teenager son no longer needed much supervision and I was confident that there were many watchful parents' eyes to cover for me.  And, apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought so.  I overheard one of the kids asking permission, "Dad, can I go to the rope course with my friends?  I saw some parents watching over small kids, so there will be adults".

The beauty of being part of the CFA Homeschooling family is it is exactly that:  Family.  I realized, then, how appropriate the theme, "Real Love", is.  We belong to a community with the same set of values and principles; and, while we value academics, there is sufficient focus in enfolding Love in everything we did, especially in homeschooling.

Needless to say, I spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on 2 weeks' worth of inadequate sleep,  while the rest of the overnight camp generally followed the pattern of God showing me some "Real Love".  It felt almost like a retreat for me.

• Before dinner, I found myself in an impromptu counseling session with one of the more senior mommies, Tita Lisa - who reminded me the importance of self-love and taking care of my health.
• During campfire worship, my son looked for me specifically to give me a hug.  And, knowing how much I enjoy stargazing, he said, "Look up, Mom.  Do you see all those stars?" It struck me because "Look up" was a phrase I equated to lifting up my worries to God.  I looked up and realized how I had unnecessarily magnified my truly minuscule concerns / troubles.
• In the morning, Tita Mayette (one of our school officials) approached me to ask how things were (on hindsight, I must have looked like a mess!) AND prayed over me. Before standing up, she said, "You can always call us, if you need some extra support". (sniff!).
• Even breaking camp together became a bonding activity without a whisper of grumbling from my son, who I had to pull away from his friends for a few minutes. I remember another mommy who told me once, "You're brave to go to camp without a male companion to help you. It's so hard setting up camp!" But my son and I managed fine.  "There! We did it by ourselves, Mom!" (High five!).
• For the closing activity, my son handed me his camp letter and a rose, mischievously greeting me "Happy Valentine's, Mom!" (Hahaha!). The letter, though, turned me to mush.

The Camp Letter (excuse the grammar)

Dear Mom,

Thank you for bringing me to Camp even if you're tired and haven't slept for days po.  I'm very happy that we went together to camp.  I'm very grateful that you enrolled me and taught me everything you can to help and go through life alone.  I've been so grateful for things you've done for me.  Mom, thank you for taking care of me since when I was still young.  I thank God for giving me such an extraordinary funny mom.  Thank you, Mom.

Love, A

We were one of the last families who left the venue, letting the kids enjoy their time together until the very last minute.  We squeezed as much as we could out of the camping activity, for sure.  And we went home on a high, our Love tanks sufficiently filled with "Real Love".