When my husband first suggested that Sarah attend summer
camp full time, I baulked.
What?!?!?!
Not stay home with me? That’s just crazy.
Beside the outrageous expense of a full-time summer camp
program in our area, she would be so tired. I just couldn’t imagine my girl
handling the demands of such a long day. Of course, my husband knows me better
than I know myself at times and suggested that I think about what I would do
with the free time. With such an inviting demand for self-reflection and the
prospect a few spa days thrown in, what could I do but sign her up and hope for
the best.
Put this in the record books – he was right!
Once I got over the initial sadness of watching her load the
bus on her own, without a tear, I eventually reveled in hearing about her adventures
each day. Sarah grew exponentially at camp! She rode the bus without fear,
running up to the door in the morning and bouncing down the steps each
afternoon, waving at her new friends or high-fiving the camp counselor who
accompanied them each day. She came home with art work, friendship bracelets
and tie dyed shirts. AND, she learned so many new things . . .swim without a
floaty, dribble a basketball, hit a baseball, run the bases, play gaga (a
politically correction version of dodge ball), make up a cheer, swing across
all the monkey bars without help and spit out watermelon seeds and plethora of
new nature facts . . . to name a few small milestones!
I learned it was time for her to begin developing her own
life – that spanned far beyond the walls of our playroom. As a result, she is ready and excited for
kindergarten, plays school nearly every day with her spotless new backpack and
regularly asks how many days remain before she can go. I couldn’t have asked
for more. I realize that she and I both needed to grow in our independence, and
now our quality time is even more high quality as she leads the activities and
teaches me new things. These are the exact big-girl adventures we’ve been
preparing her for, and I’m so proud of both of us!
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