Camp Champions Blog

Sunday Morning

Copenhagen - Arrival Day

Day 3 and 4: Gotenborg picnic and trip to Copenhagen

Jet lag is not to be laughed at.  It has real impact on anyone.  It, however, unfortunately affects every age very differently.

Susie and I are early risers and are canaries (sensitive to light), so we are struggling the least.  We woke with the sun at 6:15 this morning despite the fact that it was 11:15 the previous night Texas time.

Terrill (the 13 year old daughter) woke effortlessly at 7:30.  She declared that she “slept like a rocky-rock”.  She usually does not sound quite so much like a character from Barney, but heck, at least she rose easily.

Liam and Wiley (the 14 year-old twin boys) are, well, teenage boys.  Sleeping in is an art form, as is the look of indignation that accompanies an early wake-up.  They eventually arose and no blood was shed.

Virginia (the 10 year-old) is the wildcard.  She can join the world of the living gracefully and cheerfully, yet later crater at the first injustice.  This was our situation today.  She is – alternatively – the happiest and most outraged of our children.  The moods can alter quickly and inexplicably.  It is somewhat like watching two shows on the TV, except someone else controls the remote control and switches channels without warning you.

Here is an example.  As we left our hotel room to go to breakfast, she was bouncing and laughing - each step more a skip than a trudge.  This elation, however, would end soon when disaster hit. [CLICK] Yep, Liam hit the elevator “Down” button first.

It is hard to admit that we allowed such an injustice to occur.  Surely more loving parents would have saved her from this suffering.  Let’s just say the four floor ride down was not pleasant.  “Its MY job to push the buttons!” she exclaimed.

“Yes, but its my job to push your buttons.” Liam responded.

Yet as we saw the breakfast spread, [CLICK] she regained her sunny disposition.  Smoked mackerel, lox, Swedish cheese, fresh fruit and croissants seemed to fix what was ailing her.  [I will not try to explain the odd eating habits of our children.  I have read that children crave what their mother ate during pregnancy.  Susie loves seafood.  I am certainly understating this fact.  I would not be jealous if Brad Pitt were to flirt with Susie, but I would feel deeply threatened if a giant lobster with sardines were to woo her.]

We are in Gotenborg, Sweden for two nights.  We will pick up our car here which will be our chariot for the next 6 weeks.  When we were contemplating this adventure I saw an advertisement for the “Overseas Delivery Program” from Volvo.  This program is custom-made for us.  I will not bore you with the details, but let’s just say that getting some free and discounted flights, a special purchase price on a car we would have bought anyway and avoiding train passes for six will save us a substantial amount.

We are in the only car that will fit 6 and luggage, an X90.  It is Flamingo Red and is (apparently) the only one they have done in this color.  Why red?  This is a Susie idea.  I love her logic:

• Red cars are statistically more likely to be pulled over for speeding.
• Teenagers HATE to get tickets and deal with the parental consequences
• The boys (who will get their learner’s permits next year) will not want to get tickets
• Our children are not complete fools (here might be the flaw in her logic)
• Therefore, they will drive slower and (by implication) safer.

We will let you know if this is successful.

In 24 hours, we have seen the split personality of Sweden and Gotenborg.  Yesterday, it was beautiful – high, clear skies and 74 degrees.  The city is hosting an International festival, so there are entertainers singing and vendors selling odd items.  Everyone looked radiant as they walked around.  People smiled at strangers.

Musicians serenaded us from the canal.

Welcome to the Baskin Travel Blog.  We are taking our family of 6 (all four children, but not Fenway the Bassett Hound) out of school for some family bonding travel.  We will spend 8 weeks in Europe (starting today), return to Texas for a month of camp reunions and then leave for 11 weeks in Asia and 3 weeks in New Zealand.

Why are we traveling for 5+ months with 4 children?

Are we insane?  Not necessarily, but we surely cannot be called bright.

Are we masochists?  Not really, though running a summer camp and then taking a trip like this might lead one to wonder.

No, the reason is simpler than that: my sons are now taller than Susie Ma’am.  Let me explain.

Increased height is not inherently disruptive.  But this particular revelation really took Suise Ma’am and me by storm.    They become taller and more mature so slowly that we generally do not notice while it is happening.  As parents, we tend to think of our children as 2 years younger than they really are.  [Note – one of the cruel ironies of parenting is that our children tend to think of themselves as two years OLDER than they actually are.  As a result, parents see their 12 year-old as 10 while she thinks she is 14 – not a great recipe for domestic harmony!]

So we noticed one day that our twins (now 14 years old) are taller than Susie Ma’am and are closing in on me.

Please do not think that I am saying that we missed our children’s youth.  We have been happy and enthusiastic participants in their growth.

Yet, the height change made us realize how transient our time with them is.

We also miss out on summers with our kiddos.  We get the rare privilege to spend our summers with our campers. We get to watch them make friends, gain confidence and find joy.  We find this deeply satisfying and exciting, but we still miss out on the trips to mountains or the beach that so many of our camp families enjoy.  Or perhaps more than the trips, we miss a seasonal slower pace of life that most families experience during the summer.  Our life feels a bit like a treadmill – school busyness is replaced by camp busyness, which is replaced by school busyness.  Until our last goes off to college in 2019, we will not have a slow season.

You might wonder if a trip like this will create a sense of slower pace.  That, my friend, is a good point.

These two thoughts (our kids growing up and the lack of summer vacations) led us to this crazy idea.  We will take them out of school for a year and give them a different type of education.  On this trip, we will journal daily, examine art, study history, appreciate nature and appreciate each other.

I am also hoping to share a daily blog for our camp families.

My goals with this blog are modest.  I hope to make you smile.  I plan to share the occasional insight about life traveling with 4 kiddos.

Flash Flood at the Mighty Camp Champions

Today was a wonderfully pleasant day.