Let The Summer Begin

Well, summer has officially started for me, which means it’s time to post about camp. I’d post about Banana Girl’s trip to Israel, except the packing is finally done and there is no risk of bears there—other, scarier things, which would not sound funny at all and will only keep me up at night—so I’m going to assume she’s safe, smart and having a great time.

The Princess, however, is spending the summer at a camp. Not her camp, since the dates don’t gel well with graduation and leaving for college, but a different camp. A day camp. The last time we did day camp, she was tiny. These days, she’s older and bossier, which means she gets to be a counselor.

The good news is that I get at least some of my summer freedom as she’s gone from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm daily. I didn’t have to spend the last week and a half convincing her to label and pack her stuff. We didn’t have to shove anything into our car and transport everything out to bear country. And I don’t have to sit in front of my computer hitting “refresh” to spot her ponytail in the camp photos and wonder if she’s been eaten by bears.

The bad news is that I have to cook, paying attention to the food she likes as opposed to our usual “it’s summer, the kids are away and we can finally eat what we want” plan. I have to be aware of her plans, and coordinate my plans around her. But it’s her last summer before college and part of me is looking forward to having her around.

The bad news for her is that she gets to witness the “fun” summer projects I take on and participate in them—cleaning out her closets, getting ready for college, cleaning out the bathroom cabinets, and other exceedingly fun things like that.

I’m looking forward to finding out how day camp differs from sleep away camp. Especially because the bears only come out at night, after she’s home, right?