Preparing Baby bear for camp.

The schedule.

So, we are going away from our home and going to be all by ourselves for six days (18-23 October 2022) for a horse riding camp at the Japalouppe Equestrian Centre, Talegaon. For the first time ever. New sport. New bed. New friends. New learnings. New place. New experiences. And instead of being worried, Mamma & Baba bear are as excited as we are.

We had a family conference yesterday. No, strike that. We had two. Once in the morning and once again in the evening. The morning one was Mamma and Baby bear talking of the dos and don’ts, about the schedule and what to expect, about what to wear and who to call, how to make sure we go to the bathroom before we sleep and how we must make our bed and put away our things, how we should make friends and how we should avoid getting into fights, which adult to trust and who to go to in case of problems, and so on.

Now, normally, Mamma bear talks of all the touchy-feely stuff, about emotions and empathy, about anger and jealousy, about generosity and love, and Baba bear talks of things like lights off and reveille, correct clothing and correct behaviour, the right way to argue and the wrong way to disagree, science and facts, courage and bravery, and other such things. Yesterday, it seemed different. Mamma spoke of all the important stuff, and we did not know what in the world would Baba bear talk to us about.

So, when he asked us to sit on his lap and put his arms around us, we were really curious what this was about. He then told us he (and Mamma bear) loved us. That we are beautiful (WHAT!!!!??? He never, ever, ever, ever says that). He told us we have a pretty face and such lovely hair, that our nose is the cutest and we have long legs. He said we have a great sense of fashion and when we tie our hair, we look like someone who knows she is beautiful. We don’t know what got into him today. Honest!!

Anyway, he continued in the same vein. He told us about how unique and special we are. How we can run 10,000m in 69 minutes, how we can beat children twice our age at chess, how calming it is for him when we play the Turkish March on the piano, how we are ahead of our peers because we’d be done with Standard III by October-end and we’d be studying Standard IV subjects (except Hindi and Marathi) from November onwards while our friends would only get there in June of next year, how we are so proficient in Mandarin that our teacher wants us to take the first exam soon, and how we will make a superb horse rider.

We had our jaw on the floor as he told us all of this. Baba bear NEVER praises us like this. And today, he actually went on and on about our beauty and intelligence. This must be someone else. Who was this new man, where was Baba bear, and what had they done to him?

Then, he went on to tell us how despite having divorced parents, we always get Baba bear when we want him, Mamma bear when we want her, and both of them when we want them both, how we have Aji and Masi in the same building so we can meet them every day, how we have three homes right here where we stay and how we are lucky to be able to choose which one to eat in, which one to sleep in, where to take our classes, and where, when, and with whom to do things, all of it as per our whims, how there are children with married parents who may not have such privilege, how the amount of love we get from our family has nothing to do with whether or not our Mamma and Baba are husband and wife, and how there is nothing to be ashamed of about our parents’ relationship or about our face or hair or body or intelligence.

He also said that he’s telling us this because there will be other kids who will try and convince us differently. They might say horrible things and be mean to us, they may call us names and tell us we are ugly or dumb, they may mock us for our parents’ divorce, they may not involve us in their games and adventures, they may not be nice to us because we are the youngest (Baba bear told us that the youngest one is probably 10 or 11, and at 8, he had to take a huge favour from the management of the camp to let us come) and we may become the butt of jokes and be bullied. He says that girls at that age can get very nasty with others they do not like and that while we may or may not stand up to them, we may or may not complain about what they said or did, we may or may nor answer back or have a counter-argument (like we do when Baba bear and we are arguing about something at home), we must know in the inside our heart that they are not right, that we are indeed beautiful and smart, and that we deserve to be there as much as them, that can be as good a horse rider as they can, and that Mamma and Baba bear will always love us, regardless of whether they are married or not.

Alternatively, he said, there is quite a chance that we might find ourselves on the other side, meaning that we might be part of the group of kids who think themselves smarter, beter-looking, more fashionable, and popular, and that we might be tempted to join in with the others in mocking, troubling, poking fun at, or boycotting other kids we don’t think are ‘up to our standards’, and that not only must we avoid being party to such bullying, but that we must also take the side of the weaker kid and be there to defend them if they are the target of ridicule or attacks from others, who we must also try to convince that such picking on others weaker or fewer than you is not a polite or a nice thing to do.

Frankly, we don’t understand many things Baba bear said to us in the morning on the day prior to our camp, but he said we needn’t get it all right now, and that it will come to us by and by. That’s fine. We love Baba bear, and when he is so serious about something and talks to us like an adult, we tend to listen. And remember what he said.

Ready, get set…

The evening session was for our packing. You see, Mamma bear is so particular about everything that our packing was being prepared for the past week, and today, it is all ready and laid out on bed. We are carrying what was on the excellent list given to us by Japalouppe, where the camp is being held, plus one more. For example, if the list said four tee-shirts, we packed five. That took care of the clothes and shoes. Then, we packed our stationery and lots of stickers (there is a prize for the best journal at the end of the camp). Our Rubik’s cube, books, and colouring pencils etc. also went in the same little bag so that when the camp in-charge yells, ‘Playtime, everyone’, we just take this one bag and run, and not spend time looking for things. Then, we have our toiletries, our wet bags and dry bags (which we labelled by hand), our accessories box (with hair clips, hair ties, brooches, and other knick-knacks), our towels (one main and one backup, and one for our face & hands), and our watch (we aren’t carrying our track & field device because it needs regular charging and also because we don’t need it there; so, we are going to wear a regular Casio).

We are also taking Miracle along. Miracle is a large, soft, pink, stuffed bunny. She is our sleep-buddy, and she loves to cuddle, especially during thunderstorms when she is scared.

Dry and wet bags.

Stationery, toys, books, and entertainment.

Clothes. And Miracle.

Lastly, we made a list of items we are carrying, packed them all up, then took a family photo on our Polaroid (somehow, it hasn’t come out well, so we’ll try again in the morning) to carry with us, and decided against cuddling with Rafa, Masi’s Shih-Tsu (Mamma bear said we could, but Baba bear said we should avoid anything that could cause us sniffles or allergies for tonight). So, off we went to bed, to dream of our first out-of-home living experience. How exciting!

Packing list.

Packing list, page 2. Don’t miss the last item on the list!

Oh yes, we forgot one thing, which we woke up in the middle of the night to ask: ‘Who’ll tuck us in at night, Mamma bear?’

The camp diary and our journal.

Photos to carry to the camp, including those three Polaroids that didn’t turn out at all, but now have love notes on them!

Little notes from Mamma bear.

Later additions:

En route. Singing ‘Everything At Once’ by Lenka together…
As pretty as a picture hanging from a fixture
Strong like a family, strong as I wanna be
Bright as day, as light as play
As hard as nails, as grand as a whale