Late Sunday afternoon Laura heard Jack's car pull in the driveway and headed outside to greet her two adventurers returned from their weekend trek. Sydney ran up to her mother and Laura bent down to give her daughter a big hug and kiss, at which point Laura noticed the scuffed-up knees, the dirty hands and fingernails, the bits of marshmallow still attached to her daughter's lips, nose, and hair from the previous night's Smores.
And then Laura took a closer look at her daughter's hair. Sydney's long mane, so straight and clean when she had left Friday afternoon, now resembled the matted fur of some wild animal. She could see the tell-tale signs of the weekend's events via her daughter's tresses - swimming in the lake (after which no one had bothered to brush out the tangles), patches of white sun block caked around her daughter's hairline (at least someone had remembered to put sun block on her daughter), and of course the bits of marshmallow throughout her hair. Laura grimaced as she pictured how that evening's bath time would require lots of conditioner, and probably result in many tears after an especially painful detangling session.
Yet Sydney seemed oblivious to all of these facts, talking constantly, telling her mother every activity in which the Wilderness Girls had participated, and how she had hit her target in archery, and how canoeing was her new favorite thing, and couldn't they get a canoe, and how the Wilderness Girls songs were the best, and could they please make Smores that night? Laura's grimace quickly turned to a smile as she realized just how much Sydney had enjoyed herself.
Laura then looked over at Jack, who was smiling at her while unloading the tent and other camping equipment from the car. She noticed that he looked pretty rough as well - not as bad as after his last mission - but he could use a bath himself. Poor baby, she mused, looks like another trip to Lake Prothalamion was in their future.
That night, after the bath-hair struggle and many more Wilderness Girls stories and Sydney's version of the official Wilderness Girls song, Laura had succeeded in getting Sydney to sleep only after she finally came down from her Smores-induced sugar high. During this escapade, Laura decided that she must teach Jack how to carefully work through Sydney's long wet hair with a comb during future Wilderness Girl weekends. Otherwise, her daughter would develop a mop closely resembling the knotted locks of a Bergamasco sheepdog she had once seen in the Italian Alps.
Laura went into the bedroom where she found Jack in bed, freshly showered and looking much more like her husband than a rough mountain man.
"It's too bad you already took a shower...I was hoping I could give you as much TLC as I gave Sydney."
"Well I knew detangling those rat's nests might take a while, so I took the liberty of saving you the trouble," Jack replied.
He continued, "after sleeping on the ground for two nights on top of a knotted tree root, this bed feels like a little slice of heaven...and once you join me, it'll be even better."
Jack smiled at Laura as she made her way across the room over to her dresser. After she had taken off her jewelry and brushed her hair, she went and sat on the edge of the bed beside Jack before going into the bathroom.
"Let me go get ready for bed - I need to feel more like me and less like the mean hair-detangling witch I had to become a few hours ago. And then I want you to tell me all about YOUR Wilderness Girls weekend. I've heard the Sydney version, now I'd like to hear your version."
"My version? Oh, but Sydney tells it so much better!"
Laura smiled coyly at Jack. "Okay, then don't tell me your version - just talk to me...I've missed hearing your voice the past two days. You know it's one of my favorite parts about you?"
"Hmmm, okay, you go get ready, and I'll try to think of something good to tell you when you come back," Jack said with his own mischievous smile.
And then Laura took a closer look at her daughter's hair. Sydney's long mane, so straight and clean when she had left Friday afternoon, now resembled the matted fur of some wild animal. She could see the tell-tale signs of the weekend's events via her daughter's tresses - swimming in the lake (after which no one had bothered to brush out the tangles), patches of white sun block caked around her daughter's hairline (at least someone had remembered to put sun block on her daughter), and of course the bits of marshmallow throughout her hair. Laura grimaced as she pictured how that evening's bath time would require lots of conditioner, and probably result in many tears after an especially painful detangling session.
Yet Sydney seemed oblivious to all of these facts, talking constantly, telling her mother every activity in which the Wilderness Girls had participated, and how she had hit her target in archery, and how canoeing was her new favorite thing, and couldn't they get a canoe, and how the Wilderness Girls songs were the best, and could they please make Smores that night? Laura's grimace quickly turned to a smile as she realized just how much Sydney had enjoyed herself.
Laura then looked over at Jack, who was smiling at her while unloading the tent and other camping equipment from the car. She noticed that he looked pretty rough as well - not as bad as after his last mission - but he could use a bath himself. Poor baby, she mused, looks like another trip to Lake Prothalamion was in their future.
That night, after the bath-hair struggle and many more Wilderness Girls stories and Sydney's version of the official Wilderness Girls song, Laura had succeeded in getting Sydney to sleep only after she finally came down from her Smores-induced sugar high. During this escapade, Laura decided that she must teach Jack how to carefully work through Sydney's long wet hair with a comb during future Wilderness Girl weekends. Otherwise, her daughter would develop a mop closely resembling the knotted locks of a Bergamasco sheepdog she had once seen in the Italian Alps.
Laura went into the bedroom where she found Jack in bed, freshly showered and looking much more like her husband than a rough mountain man.
"It's too bad you already took a shower...I was hoping I could give you as much TLC as I gave Sydney."
"Well I knew detangling those rat's nests might take a while, so I took the liberty of saving you the trouble," Jack replied.
He continued, "after sleeping on the ground for two nights on top of a knotted tree root, this bed feels like a little slice of heaven...and once you join me, it'll be even better."
Jack smiled at Laura as she made her way across the room over to her dresser. After she had taken off her jewelry and brushed her hair, she went and sat on the edge of the bed beside Jack before going into the bathroom.
"Let me go get ready for bed - I need to feel more like me and less like the mean hair-detangling witch I had to become a few hours ago. And then I want you to tell me all about YOUR Wilderness Girls weekend. I've heard the Sydney version, now I'd like to hear your version."
"My version? Oh, but Sydney tells it so much better!"
Laura smiled coyly at Jack. "Okay, then don't tell me your version - just talk to me...I've missed hearing your voice the past two days. You know it's one of my favorite parts about you?"
"Hmmm, okay, you go get ready, and I'll try to think of something good to tell you when you come back," Jack said with his own mischievous smile.
