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We survived the scout camping trip and we both actually seemed to have a lot of fun. I learned real quick that I want a mat for my sleeping bad for next time. Sleeping on the ground is not fun when you are 41. I didn’t quite fill out my bingo card but:

1. First thing thing Saturday morning, I tried making small talk and some guy said Disney+ was nothing but “leftwing content” now, (which is the terminally offline way of saying “woke”.
2. Someone I shall refer to as Uncle Grandpa(he was an actual grandpa to a few kids but was very much that uncle stereotype) told the same story about getting lost going to the camp site like 4 times in 15 minutes, even though it’s a straight drive. I can’t dog him too much on that since I’m not great with directions though. He also commented on my protein bar and said that he’s diabetic, like 3 times.
3. Uncle Grandpa blamed the uptick of ADHD diagnoses on “all the sugar theses kids are eating” and called it “that attention disorder whatever they are calling it now”.
4. Uncle Grandpa has a naked lady tattoo on his leg and was around a bunch of K through 5th graders.
5. Uncle Grandpa decided to give his unsolicited opinions on pedophilia, in the middle of a 3 mile hike, unprovoked. This is one of the things that really bugged me the most since I know he wasn’t meaning to be crass about it but it was uncalled for around a bunch of kids.
6. When we went on the hike, we split into 2 groups, K-2nd grade and then the older kids. The older kid group went on a harder hiking path and got lost/stranded but could see camp. They were stuck on top of a mesa. We sent a couple of the leaders to rescue them, they got stuck, located them but couldn’t get to them. We got a hold of the ranger who went and rescued both parties and they all made it back safely at 7:30 last night. No one was hurt, and they were all in good spirits.
7. Where we were camped, there was red dirt literally everywhere and all the kids played in it, got it everywhere else and it’s a never ending torrent of this fine red dirt. I wiped my kid down 4 times before finally giving up. Currently washing all of our clothes.
8. 2 people talked about how bad diet soda was while cramming their face full of mini chocolate cupcakes.
9. My son’s school friend was there and I think he got bit by something, because he was sobbing in pain and his face looked swollen from an allergic reaction. His parents marked it up as him probably faking it.
10. My kid cut his finger and with how he was reacting, I thought he broke his arm or something. We bandaged it up but after an hour, he was fine. It was a cut from a blade of grass similar to a paper cut so it def probably hurt.
11. Throughout the day there was some casual misogyny/misandry jokes but it was all in fun and I expected it somewhat since this group is a lot of religious conservative parents. Nothing was meant in malice but I think it’s a reflection on how far left I’ve come when I am put off by that sort of thing.
12. I was doing great masking until I met Carlos and we talked about my web dev project and he works for a small ISP in town so he knows some tech stuff. He said it sounds like I know more about networking than some of the people he works with(lol…). I gave my business card to him and the scout master because they had said they know people that might want/need a website.
13. “Why aren’t you eating the tacos.” “I don’t eat meat.” and then hilarity(not really) ensued. A kid did say vegans sound annoying and that made me laugh.

At the end, I actually had fun. I sort of just tried my best to mask and dissociated occasionally. I did roll my eyes when they all were laughing at Israel’s pager/walkie talkie terrorist attacks, praising them for their overt fascism, etc etc.

Our ten-year-old is nervous about identifying as “therian” and “otherkin” (these are Dad-is-confused quotes, not scare quotes). She’s acting like a dragon, putting shiny things in a hoard, making a nest in her bed, occasionally growling instead of communicating actual important things. I’ve listened and been supportive (I hope), but I need to talk with her more about it at length once I do some research (which she has suggested).

She gets these concepts from Scratch (ostensibly a coding platform, actually a BBS for tweens) and her very online friends. I don’t yet know how to approach it in a supportive way, but mostly I’m just upset that what should be a time in a kid’s life where they’re following their own imaginations, interests, and emotions to wherever wild place they may lead has turned into a time where you feel like you have to shoehorn yourself into This Strictly Defined Identity right this instant or else you’re a person without a clique. And it’s not the old prep/nerd/jock/goth/etc dynamic, it’s gotta be something deep-seated that will feel like a betrayal if you ever give it up.

Like, the only thing she’s really told me about this is that “some people call themselves therians and say they choose to be therian, but those aren’t real therians”. Gah! I want her to just experience being and exploring for a while without labeling and gatekeeping.

In about a year, my son will be starting school, and the decision about where to send him is stressing me out. We’ve already ruled out the nearest school—it looks more like a modern prison than a place for children. The building is completely gray, with bare concrete walls inside, huge windows everywhere, and the classroom setup seems geared towards old-fashioned, frontal teaching. Even though the neighbors seem happy with it, I just can’t imagine my son spending his days there for years.

On the other hand, there’s a newer school about a 15-minute walk away that opened three years ago. It looks much greener and more inviting. They also offer mixed-age classes, which I attended when I was younger and loved—no endless hours of boring, traditional teaching. I’m really hoping this school is as great as I think it is. I plan to visit in a month to see it firsthand, but I’m still not completely sure if it will be the right fit for him.

Toddler started preschool and is thriving and she’s basically potty trained at this point. We really lucked out, it’s 3 minutes away with an amazing teacher. She’s only going twice a week because it’s still expensive as hell even if it’s cheap for the area.

It was her birthday yesterday and we took her to an animal sanctuary in the morning, Pasado’s. Place was incredible, very clean and well run. She got to interact with tons of animals and just had a blast. We’ll definitely go back, way better than the zoo esp since we’re all vegan.

Currently my in-laws are visiting and I could write forever about them. They caused a scene yesterday evening after presents were done being opened and left back to their Airbnb in a huff. Wife has clearly communicated they need to apologize or they aren’t welcome anymore (lots of backstory including physical abuse).

Her mom is trying to pretend nothing happened and her dad won’t even look at her, par for the course, but we’re about to force the convo after my wife finishes napping so we’ll see how that goes. I won’t be the least bit upset if I never see them again, if they were my parents they wouldn’t even be in my life.