Things I Learned on a Middle/High School Retreat

So, this past weekend hanging out with middle/high school kids I learned a few things. Of course this always makes me feel like I'm so out of touch. I mean, how could I miss these things??? Being a middle aged stay-at-home mom does that to us!

1. Modest bathing suit - that would consist of the tiniest string bikini with a see-through white T-shirt over it. Thank goodness! there were thunderstorms!!!

2. Oreos are better than Chips Ahoy - not sure why, but they were hands down much more popular this weekend!

3. "Help in the Kitchen" means "Eat whatever you want while you flirt with everyone of the opposite sex" - actually, this only happened with the guys - the girls were a huge help!

4. Big baggy athletic shorts are in, of course mixed with string bikini tops - you won't see me trying that anytime soon!! (and be so glad that one didn't stick with me - it would just be pathetic and scary all at the same time!)

5. SAT's now go up to like 2600 points or something crazy like that. Now my SAT score looks even more pathetic than when I was in high school!! Sad!

6. Howard County (as I'm sure many other United States school districts) really need to step up to the plate when it comes to teaching spelling - these kids can't spell for beans!!! NO MORE INVENTIVE PHONETIC SPELLING PLEASE!!! You are making these kids look like uneducated idiots (sorry guys, but I'm doing this for you!)!

7. Teenagers today can be very polite - I'm totally serious! and they want to change their world. Case in point: getting kids to talk about "what they learned" was not really working, but when we had 10 meatball subs left over and decided to take them down to the fishing pier - more than 10 kids wanted to GO!! and they loved it. It was spontaneous, simple service and they were all about that. Give them something tangible to do!

8. Forcing people to do things out of their comfort zone teaches them that sometimes what they THINK is not in their comfort zone is really something they LOVE!! I cannot tell you how many adults and kids came back with stories about doing something on the boardwalk they were not comfortable with but then found out it was fun, that it felt good and they couldn't wait to do it again.

9. God can do good things for us in a storm. T was so disappointed that it stormed and rained all night. It completely ruined his plans for the morning and when we left he felt that it was a complete wash out. Then I reminded him how we were the last ones allowed to pass through that water. If we'd left a minute later instead of 20 minutes earlier than scheduled, the whole group would have been stranded at the beach! God had a reason for the weekend ending the way it did!

10. The new word I learned was "chillaxin" - and that's what I did today. More rain, nowhere to go, nothing to do but try to get ready for our vacation.... I like that word!