The movie title for Day 10 would be Chucky Goes Glamping. The next in line of such Chucky cinematic treasures as Child’s Play 1, 2, and 3, Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, and Cult of Chucky.
Will and his newest BFF, Tucker, played a game called “Chucky” from 11:30 until 6:30, with only a short break for lunch and an arts and crafts project. As best as I could discern from the pool sidelines, the game had three basic rules:
- Lucas is Chucky.
- Avoid Chucky because he is evil.
- Tackle, wrestle, or shoot Chucky with water guns.
Lucas seemed to relish the role of Chucky. Chasing Will and Tucker. Wielding an imaginary knife when cornering them. Talking in his evil, scary voice.
Will made another new friend at lunch, Bobbie. They played while I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the boys. I am certain that my boys would be fine without any toys. Bobbie, the green worm, entertained them for 20 minutes. Finding sticks would-be weapons for the non-aquatic, campsite version of the Chucky game occupied at least another 45 minutes.
After lunch, the child development researcher in me whispered “it is time for a break from Chucky play.” The camp had a “make a mask” arts and crafts project at 3 so I took the boys. So much for breaking the day’s theme of terror and fright. Will made a dual-sided mask. Scary werewolf with evil red eyes on one side. Cyborg, presumably evil cyborg, on the other. Lucas claims he made a zombie mask. It is indistinguishable from his drawings of our family.
After some more Chucky play with Tucker and his brother at the pool and waterpark, we headed to the “Chocolate Slip and Slide” event at the lake down from the general store. One slip and slide. Six large cans of chocolate syrup. A hose. Fifty kids. Ecstasy for the kids.
The night ended with smores and an Eminem Eight Mile-style scary story battle between Will and Tucker’s 12- or 13-year old sister at our tent neighbor’s campfire. I showed the kids how to hold the headlamp under their chins to make their faces look scary for the stories. Will and Tucker’s sister went back forth with stories. Leaning into their brothers’ faces for the scariest moments in the stories. Lucas jumped in with an extended remix version of Will’s stories from the car. He made up for a wandering and convoluted storyline with wildly illustrative hand jestures and demonstrative facial expressions.
There are so many reasons I love and am proud of my boys. It is the small things they do. The kindness. The sweetness. The genuineness. This morning (I am writing Wednesday morning because of no internet at camp last night). A small story but one that is Will at his Will-esque best. The first thing he does when we wakes up is go over to Tucker’s sister. “Excuse me, I really liked your stories last night.” He then asked where Chucky was.
Professor No More 