Grasshopper New Media Presents...

Summer camp has always been part of my life, as a matter of fact, I’m still involved in the same one I attended, and, where I worked for over 16 summers.

I always imagined my kids would go, too, and, when my daughter was old enough, she went, too. She’s now getting ready for her 4th summer there.

So, imagine my surprise, when it was time for my middle child, a boy, to go, and, it just didn’t feel right to send him.

He’s nearly 11, and, he’s been old enough to go to camp for the past 2 summers, but, he’s more of a homebody than his sister, and, he was very unsure about the whole thing.

We debated, wondering if we were just being overprotective by not sending him, or, if we should just make him go, anyway. Though he has a number of friends who are campers there, the session is 3 weeks, and, that’s a long time for someone who doesn’t want to be there.

He’s very different from his sister, not quite as outgoing, independent, and, responsible. I don’t know if it’s because he’s a boy, he’s a middle child, or, if it’s just him. I have no siblings, and, I’ve never been a boy, so, perhaps this is more typical for a boy than I realize.

This year is different, though. He’s pretty sure he wants to go, but, more importantly, it seems like the right thing to do, now. He needs to learn some self-care skills without having to rely on his sister.

It’s time for him to make some new friends, to learn to do some work, and, to be able to share the place that means so much to his sister, and, his parents.

And, it’s also time for him to learn what to do with dirty clothes.

[tags]kids, out of the house, sleep-away camp, camping, courage[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by the author, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved