Survivor: My week at Girl Scout Camp

Wolf spiders and little girl screams. Torrential downpour. Sunburns. Bug bites. Sleeplessness. And tears.

And that's just the adults...

But Girl Scout Camp was the best week ever.

Sure us leaders have that moment, mid-day Friday, when we look at ourselves and whisper "Three more hours." But in nearly the same breath, we're talking about the T-shirts we're making to wear next year.

A friend told me last night, after the bags were unpacked, how impressed she was that I volunteer at camp each year. But the reality is, we do it for the girls.

We have jobs. We are moms. We are the shuttle for our kids and housekeepers for our homes. But we carve out time to come up with crazy projects and suffer sunburn and downpours because the kids are worth it.

It's worth it to hear your daughter talk about will she see this girl or that girl again this year in the weeks before camp week. Some of these girls have been camp friends for three years now and are already looking forward to next year.

It's worth it to see the girls develop new friendships that may last a week, or may last years.

It's worth it to see the girls try something new and get excited about exploring creeks, pitching tents or trying out a new project.

It's worth it to hear the cheers of camp mates when a girl makes it to the top of the rockwall or is so close to passing her swimming test to go in the deep end of the pool.

It's worth it to watch the girls come up with their own impromptu skit night just because.

It's worth it to see the smile break out on the face of the shiest girl in the group because she won the all-camp contest.

And it's worth it to hear your kids say "See you next year!"