I need to share an post for the kids at our campground. I’m going to do it super carefully because it involves many children that are not in fact my children, as well as a foster kid. So bear with me, and please hear my heart in this.
So we had a pretty challenging time not long ago. During our week of holidays, we made a switch in our family. Sugar Beet moved along and we took in a nine year old with high needs. I will not get into it on here, for obvious reasons, but the child only stayed for a couple of days. In those days, they fished, swam, kayaked, ate s’mores, and experienced a lot of fun firsts. That being said, it was a VERY difficult situation, and we were at camp the entire time, and this child needed to GO absolutely every waking moment. Which was especially challenging considering they walked with a walker.
Guys. I kid you not. Those days with this child would not have been possible without the campground kids. Walker or not, they included our child in everything. Man tracker. Laser tag. Kick the can! Our kid who walked with a walker kicked the can!!! There were at least ten kids ripping around the campground, playing for hours on end, without leaving anyone out. Not even the kid with special needs.
We left the campground to move this kid in an evening. It was later, around 9:00ish. The campground kids paused their round of man tracker and came to see us off. Our child just BEAMED. “You all came to see me????”
We loaded up in the van and slid the big door shut. I opened up the front windows and started driving. The way the campground is, I circled the loop before driving up the hill and away from Kinasao. And the kids all waved and whooped and called their goodbyes after us. As we circled, a couple of kids dashed across and waved again from the other side. Just as we were about to start the hill, kids ran over and waved, making a big scene. Rowan chased us halfway up the hill.
And this little one who had been placed with us was absolutely dumbfounded. They felt like an absolute celebrity. SO important. SO special. SO happy to be loved and included. They kept looking back, long after we hit the highway, commenting on how Rowan was probably still trying to catch up.
The whole thing got me feeling pretty emotional. These kids just rallied around our newcomer, indirectly coming around our entire family. The campground full of children showed up. Some of these kids, I had never even met before. No one hesitated. If we can be super blunt and honest (which I really hope we can be) having this child didn’t make things easier. Including a child with special needs is not easy. Sometimes, the games aren’t as fun. Sometimes, kids take a hit to include another kid who can’t quite keep up. But not a single kid showed any sign of distain or impatience. They just rolled and included and played hard. And then honoured beautifully by sending us off SO warmly.
We need more kids like this. I only wish I could show you a picture of the incredible lineup we had there to send us off. However, while you cannot see them, that image will forever be burned in my brain 💜