Married to the Empire

Monday, June 30, 2008

Camp Countdown

This is it. The final week before the big highlight of the youth group's summer: Youth Camp.

For the first time since I've been at this particular church (7 years in September), I'm excited about camp. When youth parents ask me if I'm excited about camp, I don't have to lie this time! (Not that I approve of lying, but it doesn't help parents be able to send their babies, even if their babies are 6'4", off with a woman who says she's not excited about camp.)

Why am I excited this year when I haven't been in the past? It's simple: We've been to this camp before, and I know what to expect. I have a lot of anxiety about new places and experiences. Throw in having to play chaperone to a bunch of teens, and my anxiety level is off the chart. Not that I can't handle it, but I like predictability and some degree of knowing what's going to happen.

Things I know:
-What the accommodations are like
-What the food is like (for the first time, I'm not bringing my own backup food in case of being served migraine-inducing foods--this camp has quite the buffet, so I'm safe with the variety)
-What the activities are like
-I can get in naps in the afternoon to fight off sleep-deprivation-induced migraine
-What the adult leaders are expected to do
-The horrible lead singer from last year's camp is not leading music this year!!!

Now I just have to tackle the massive to-do list that always accompanies going away for a while. Let the countdown begin!

3 comments:

ashley said...

So I'm curious, what other migraine triggers do you have, besides blueberries? I really need to figure out mine.

Anne Marie@Married to the Empire said...

Ashley, as far as food is concerned, I'm affected by any really hard cheeses, such as parmesan. Also, pineapple (that one is instantaneous) and chocolate. I think too much sugar affects me, too.

Then there are the environmental triggers, such as heat, bright lights, extreme temperature changes, changes in weather, etc.

I highly recommend a book called Heal Your Headache: The 1-2-3 Program for Taking Charge of Your Pain by David Buchholz, M.D. This is the book that really helped me figure out what caused my pain. For a few months after trying his program, I was mostly migraine-free, but after a trip to a chiropractor, my migraines came screaming back. I've been too afraid to go back to the chiropractor to try to have him fix it.

Anonymous said...

Fun!! I always loved taking the jr high group to stuff, but the high schoolers were more challenging for me. I think it was just our particular group, because high schoolers are usually more mature than jr high kids.

Can't wait to hear all about it!