Little Jack 1st Camp

Little Jack 1st Camp

"Ooh boy, today is the day", little Jack said to himself while lying on the bed. Just thinking about what is supposed to happen today makes Jack nervous and scared. All kinds of thoughts starts to fill his mind about what could possibly go wrong. Just then... "Knock, knock Jack!" I see you are up!" "Excited hun?" Jack’s mother says. "Yes mam…!" Jack says shyly. "Well come on downstairs and eat breakfast before we go. I fixed your favorite!" says Jack mother. "Okay be down in a second!" says Jack.

The truth is Jack isn’t excited at all! Jack is nervous and scared, and just the thought that they will be leaving soon is making Jacks' stomach hurt! He doesn’t want to eat, how can he! All he can think about is going to this summer camp away from all those he know and love... His family! Jack was up all last night thinking about today and trying to find ways of how he can get out of going!

"Suppose something happens at camp!" Jack thinks. "I can’t swim! Suppose I fall in the water? My family won’t be there to help me! Dad is an awesome swimmer. He will help me if something happens just like he did before! ...Suppose I accidentally eat something with eggs in it. I’m allergic to eggs! Mommy usually cooks my food. She knows I can’t eat eggs." "…JACKK! Breakfast is waiting!" Jack's mom shouted from downstairs.

Jack sit ups and climbs off the bed. "Coming!", he replies. As he goes downstairs something feels different. "Mommy said she fixed my favorite", Jack thinks to himself… "Blueberry pancakes! Mmm… We all love mommy's cooking! You can smell her cooking a mile way! It smells so good." ...But today seems different!

The closer he gets to the kitchen and smell those nice hot pancakes, the more Jack feels sick. He can’t understand why! "What’s wrong with me?" Jack thinks. "Did I eat something last night to make me sick?" He then hears, "… Jack! Jack! What’s the matter? You don’t look so good! Did you get enough sleep?" Jack looks at all the food on the table and replies, "No, not really." "Excited about the 1st day of camp hun?", Dad says. "I guess", Jack replies.

Then Jack says, "You know I was thinking... a week is a long time to be away from home. Maybe I can stay here and just help watch out for my younger sisters." Jack parents looks at him with amazement. "Well how nice of you to offer but we have already made plans for them to stay with your Nana and Papa while you are away." "NANA and PAPA !!" Jack says. "Aren’t they too old to watch them!"

"Jack!", his mother says "…That is not very nice!" "Where is this coming from?" Jacks' dad ask. "I thought you were excited about going to camp!" Jack looked at his parents and wanted so badly for them to say he didn’t have to go. Then his mother asked, "Are you worried about camp?" Jack nods his head yes. "Ahh... it's normal to be nervous, and its ok! Just watch! You are going to have fun meeting new people and playing games. Next thing you know, it will be time for us to go pick you back up and you are not even going to want to leave!"

"You’ll see... you will be just fine!" Jacks dad says. But for Jack, he knew he wasn't going to be fine. He wasn’t fine at all!

After dropping off his sisters to their grandparents' house he sat in the back seat all alone just thinking and hoping his parents will turn the car around, pick his sisters back up, and head back home. The more they drove, the more scared he was getting. Jack was feeling more and more nervous, and wanted to hide! Then he was spooked by his mother saying … OOH look! she says with excitement. "There's the welcome sign! It looks like we are here Jack!"

He looks out the window and all he can see were all the different ways something can go wrong! As his father parks the car… Jack all of a sudden can no longer keep in his fear… he quickly jumps out of his seatbelt and lends toward the front with huge tears coming down his face and says... "Please.. please don’t make me stay! I don’t want you to leave me here by myself!"

His mom and dad looks at Jack with puzzled faces. "You aren’t by yourself Jack, there are plenty of children here!" Jack dad says. "But I don’t know them!" Jack says.. "They might not like me and I will be all alone and possibly get lost!" "You won't get lost. You have camp leaders here who will make sure that doesn’t happen!" Jack mother says. "What is going on?" Jack dad ask.

Just then there is a knock on the car window. It was one of the camp leaders. Jack parents opens the door and steps out of the car but Jack doesn’t move! He just sits in the car feeling all alone while looking at all the children running around and playing.

As the door opens a strange face appears. "Hello Jack, my name is Mr. Ralph. I am one of the camp leaders. I know this is all new and different to you, but I think you will have fun playing games and swimming..." "...SWIMMING!!" Jack says.. "I’m going to drown!! I can’t swim!" Jack begins to cry. Mr. Ralph tries to calm Jack and tells him he promises to not let anything bad happen to him!

Then Jack dad says.. "Hey kiddo, let’s just try it for one night. If you still feel this scared in the morning Mr. Ralph will call your mom and I and we will be right back here to get you!" Jack looks out the window at his mother who has a worried sad look on her face. Jacks' mother knew exactly what Jack was feeling. She felt the same way when she was his age going to her first camp, but she later learned to like it and even met new friends! She just hopes he will learn to do the same!

Jack nervously agrees and gets out of the car. Jack's parents bends down and hugs him really tight and tells him everything will be fine. "Love you Jack..." says Jack's mother "Love you kiddo..." says Jack's father. And in a very soft whisper Jack says, "...I love you too!"

As Jack watches his parents drive away, Jack feels as though he is never going to see them again, which made him really sad and tears begin to fall down his face. Mr. Ralph, the camp leader, sees this and grabs Jacks' hand and says.. "You will be fine!” But Jack didn’t think so! He knew nothing will be fine now!

All the children at the camp were very nice. Many of them came up to Jack to ask if he would like to play games with them but Jack always said no. He didn’t want to play games, he didn’t want to go exploring on the trails, and he definitely didn’t want to go swimming!

Lunch time came and he didn’t eat! Later during dinner, Jack just sits at the dinner table with his head held down. "Do you want your ice cream?" asks one of the children. Jack looks at the ice cream and shakes his head no. "Can I have it?" Jack reaches in his tray and gives the little boy his ice cream. Just then Jack hears "You’re not hungry Jack?" ...It was Mr. Ralph.

Jack sits there on the bench with his head down and replies…" "My head is hurting, I don’t feel good! May I go lay down now?" With concern Mr. Ralph says "Yes Jack, sure." Jack gets up, looks at Mr. Ralph, turns around, and go to bed. That evening, Jack’s parents calls to check up on him. Mr. Ralph tells them how jack has been sad and won’t eat. How he says his head is hurting him and how he says he is feeling sick. Mr. Ralph told Jack's parents that as a camp leader he sees many children at camp and sometimes he meets children just like Jack.

"I believe Jack is having separation anxiety.." says Mr. Ralph. "He has what?" Jack father replies. "No… he’s just a little nervous, that’s all. He will be fine!" But Jacks' mother knew that was not true! She knew Jack was having a hard time as he has many times before. She thought about all the times he didn’t even want to sleepover his grandparents house when younger and even now. "What do we need to do?".. she asks Mr. Ralph. "How can we help JACK!"

Later on that night, while sitting up on the bed, Jack tries playing with his favorite toys and games. Even snuggling with his favorite stuffed animal, but nothing seems to help. All he does is think about his family. The more he thinks about them the sadder he gets, and the more worried he becomes thinking he isn't going to see his family again.

He starts thinking about his sister getting hurt by falling off her bike while staying at their grandparents house and needing to go to the hospital all because he isn’t there to protect her as a big brother. He starts thinking about his mommy getting so sad that she becomes sick and is now home in bed unable to cook and clean, all because he left her and isn’t there so she can see him. He even thinks about his dad being outside chopping some wood for the fire and one of the blocks hits him in the head so hard that now he no longer knows anybody name and he isn't there to help him remember.

He worries so badly about all this happening that he can’t go to sleep. "I can’t go to sleep!" he thinks to himself. "I must stay awake because I might miss something! A fire might start and I won't hear Mr. Ralph call my name if I am sleeping!" He got so worried that he doesn’t even realize he is beginning to cry so badly that everyone in the cabin started waking up and looking at him with fear not knowing what is happening. Hearing Jack cries Mr. Ralph walks over to Jack and asks him what's wrong. "I just don’t feel good! I feel sick!" Jack says.

Mr. Ralph sits down beside jack and asks, "What is hurting?" "My head hurts, my stomach hurts, and I can’t go to sleep.. I won't to go to sleep!" says Jack. Hearing this Mr. Ralph asks, "Do you miss your family?" Jack looks up at the camp leader and begins to cry even more and nods his head yes!

Mr. Ralph looks at Jack and says, "You know it's ok that you don’t want to be here. I felt the same way going to my first camp." Jack looks at Mr. Ralph sniffling and asks… "You did?" "Yes!" ...says Mr. Ralph... "I was just like you scared and frightened. I even felt like I was all alone and that my parents just left me!" Jack looks at Mr. Ralph with widen eyes. "You felt like that too..?" Jack says! "I sure did!" says Mr. Ralph!

"So what happened, What did you do?(sniff) ...Did you get to go back home?" ask Jack. Mr. Ralph looks at Jack and replies, "Well there was this nice camp leader named Mr. Cooper and he did this amazing thing I will never forget!" "What was that?" asks Jack. "He called my parents and explained to them how I was having a hard time being away from them and told them some ways to help me overcome my fears and anxiety." "Anxiety?..." Jack says... "What's that?" Jack ask. "Well.." says Mr. Ralph " ...It is what you are feeling right now."

"It's how you are feeling scared and feeling like something bad might happen." "OOHHH .. !" Jack says. "And you know what else Mr. cooper did?" says Mr. Ralph. "What?" ask Jack. "He even told my parents to come back to the camp!" replies Mr. Ralph. Hearing this made Jack eyes fill with tears. "Did they come back?" asks Jack. "They sure did!.." says Mr. Ralph. Just then Jack held his head down so the other children couldn't see him crying again from missing his parents.

"You know what else.." said Mr. Ralph "...since Mr. copper did that for me, I thought I would do the same for you!" Just then in a soft warm voice ".. Jaack!!" says Jacks mother. "Hey there kiddo….how you doing?" says Jack dad. Jack quickly looks up to see both his mom and dad standing there at the bed. He quickly jumps into their arms and begins crying even more! They hug each other so tight. Jacks mother kisses him on the cheek! Jacks dad then says… "Kiddo we are sorry!"

"Mr. Ralph told us how you're feeling and gave us some advise on how to make this easier for you." "HE DID?".. Jack says. "He sure did!" … Jack's mom replies! "With some good help from others who's been through this and know how you feel, they can help us all learn to make you feel more secure and safe when you are away from home!" "How does that sound kiddo?.." Jacks dad asks. "Sounds a little scary.. BUT.. I think that it will be good!" Jack's parents smile and hug Jack even tighter. "How about we take you home, how does that sound?" Jack's mom asked. "Now that sounds great!!" Jack replies.

Jack grabs his things, turn, and looks at Mr. Ralph. "Thank you Mr. Ralph!" Jack says. "No problem! says Mr. Ralph. I hope to see you again soon. Maybe next year!" Jack smiles at Mr. Ralph and says "Me too Mr. Ralph! ... Me too!"

Jack and his parents walks to the car. As Jack climbs in the back seat, he looks at his parents and ask, "Mom.. Dad.. does this mean I will be able to finally stay at Nana’s and Papa house by myself now?" With a smile and hopeful voice Jack dad says, "We hope so kiddo!.. We sure do hope so!"

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