Quick Get Me A Massuese!

Holy G-L-O-R-Y.
Lastnight we had a shift in plans. I was supposed to stay home with Hunter by myself while Chance took Darius to a Boy Scouts Overnighter at a YMCA just north of us. It turned out that we switched places, and I went with Darius instead.
Let's state that I spent the day cleaning the MIL's and clearing out her garage in preparation for the cold weather. I hadn't really thought about how much work I had put in there until I woke up sore this afternoon.
We arrived at the YMCA about 45 minutes early, we were the first ones there (as I wasn't sure how to get there) and got to explore a bit beforehand. We brought in our sleeping roll, and backpack, and got on with the activities. Once our other Cub Scout friends arrived we went and played Soccer in the gym. I ran and played with Darius at each opportunity for the majority of th evening (until my shoes started to hurt my feet, then I instructed him to play something with another Scout someplace). They had some terrific plans for the boys for the night, with Sand Art, Dodgeball, Save the Person (a knot tying activity), a Movie, a snack of Hot Dogs, chips & juice, and plenty of running around at full tilt.
I haven't unloaded my camera yet, but I got some terrific shots of Darius running around with friends and those images will last me forever, I'm sure. His hair was flying back (not that it's very long) and his clothes were plastered to his front and billowing out behind him, and he had such a big grin on his face it was impossible not to catch it.
I did my best to keep up with him at every step. I'm offended once again by the lack of participation from the other parents in our group. The two who showed up sat on the bleachers all night and didn't participate, the only thing they did with their boys was the crafty stuff. They even had a game of Parents vs. Scouts in Dodgeball which they didn't participate in (and neither did I, for the record, as D didn't feel like playing so we left the gym for this one). There was a Handicapped guy there and I have to say I was very impressed at his participation level as he was out there playing with his boy every chance he got (minus a break now and then). I basically glued myself to D's side all night. Yes, I could have appeared overbearing, but I choose to see it as participating. When he went potty, I was in the hallway waiting for him to exit, when he ate his snack I was next to him on the bedroll. We had fun in each others' company. Not that I prevented him from playing with anyone else, I just chose to take a step back and be within reach for whatever it was that he was doing.
We had an amazing time, and byt the time midnight rolled around (It started at 9pm) he was complaining about being tired. Thinking back on it I could have set us up in a quieter corner of the place and let im zonk out cause he was ready to, but I didn't want him to miss out on anything so I pushed him to stay awake for the entire night. He finally conked out around 3am waiting for them to put a movie on the projector & wall of the Gym where we had our sleeping bags rolled out on the floor. 6am (maybe it was 6:15?) rolled around and someone came in yelling and screeshing to rise & shine. I was up instantly as I don't believe I had actually gone to "sleep" the entire night, more likely dozed. They played Finding Nemo & Atlantis for a couple of movies while everyone was sleeping. Did I mention it was an "Under the Sea" theme? Anyhow, it took me f-o-r-e-v-e-r to shake D out of bed and get him to go brush his teeth. He refused to get his clothes on for the day though, and actually threw a crying fit at me for trying to get him to do so. So, we had fresh breath, rolled up our sleeping rolls, and headed out. Darius got a badge for the overnighter, which was cool. It had started rainging shortly after we arrived there around 8:15 lastnight, and hasn't stopped since...I guess we're due some precipitation and it's supposed to turn into snow, so C tells me.
Anyhow, we got home about 7 this morning, and went straight back to bed. I guess H gave C a hard time lastnight and got as little sleep as I did, and he was grateful to have me home with him. H & I crashed until just after noon, and D got up not long before. It was kinda funny, when we got home I marched him upstairs after another mini-fit telling me he was too tired to move, and he got mad at me for telling him to get in bed...but he was out before I had a chance to get myself settled in bed with H.
We're home now, out of the rain, and it feels like our kilter has been knocked off, hopefully we get back on track with what's left of the weekend.
As I was getting us ready to go I realized I didn't have a sleeping bag, and had a passing thought of bringing an Airbed and blankets, but passed it off as wussy. Yeah...the other parents in my group brought their airbeds & blankets. I slept on a 1" thick foamy in a kids sleeping bag while D had a couple of blankets for padding.
I feel like I got beat up. A ocmbo of moving objects from a garage down to a basement, lack of sleep, and playing all night with my oldest son really did a number on me. I hurt everywhere. It hurts to think.
I had an amazing time and would do it again in a heartbeat!

I couldn't understand why our pack leader kept asking me questions like "I bet you're gonna kill your husband when you get home huh?". I really enjoyed myself, all night. The only thing I'd do differently is bring a better pair of shoes that didn't hurt my feet so much, so I could play more. I'm not like other moms that way, I enjoy getting rough & rowdy with my children, playing games with them, encouraging them to use their imaginations, and everything that goes along with it. I thrive on it, and so do my kids. I wish I could do it more often cause it was just that much fun.