Summer Camp

Yesterday we picked our son up from summer camp.

I'd been thinking about sending him to summer camp since last summer.  This winter, I finally did the research to find one, and found two that I really liked.  The first was north of us, near Redding, and had a minimum stay of 2 weeks.  With a minimum age of eight.  He would turn 8 at the beginning of the summer, so technically he would qualify, but I wondered if two weeks would be too long.

I talked to him about it, and asked if he'd be interested in going to camp, explaining the kinds of things that he would do there.  He was excited about the idea.  I asked him if he could handle two weeks, and he thought he could.  However, when I presented the idea to my husband, he was definitely not ok with a two week stay at this age!  So I went back to the internet and found the second camp that I liked.

This one was much closer (up near Lake Tahoe), and had one-week sessions.  We ordered the dvd, and I checked out the website.  My son was super excited.  I told him he would have to forego his birthday party (every other year I allow him to have a party in a rented facility, but that can be expensive), and ask his family members to please contribute to the cost of camp rather than giving him any gifts.  All very large sacrifices, I thought, for a 7-year-old to consider.

He happily agreed, but I wondered if it would last when his birthday actually came around.  His birthday is the beginning of July, and camp wasn't until the second week of August, so I was worried that when the actual birthdate came around, he'd forget the deal and want gifts too.

I told him that he could invite friends over to swim with him to celebrate his birthday, and he was completely satisfied with that.  I was careful NOT to call it a pool party, just inviting his friends informally, without written invitations, explaining to the guests that it was an informal get-together, and that he wasn't actually having a party because he chose to use that money for camp.

He had a great time, was grateful for the gifts that he got from his friends, and didn't regret his decision at all.  I was very proud of him.

Finally, camp week approached.  We needed to drop him off Sunday afternoon, and by Friday he was starting to get nervous.  I'm not sure how much of that was from reading his dad's nervousness, though.

We drove in and parked, and between the car and the registration table, his dad asked him if he was nervous at least a couple times!  We got him checked in, met his counselor, and checked out his cabin.  He selected a bunk, made the bed, and found a spot for his suitcase.  Then we went out to check out the cool things they had near the cabin; basketball court, ping-pong tables, foosball tables, etc.

He met his bunkmate, and started off with him to explore, so we said our goodbyes and left.

All the drive home my husband was worried about him.  Which started me wondering if he was going to be ok.  Even though I know he's incredibly capable of making friends and having fun in the moment, I was worried about him getting scared.  I didn't let him take his security blanket with him.  I didn't want him to be laughed at by the other kids.

I didn't hear anything from them all week, so I hoped he was having a good time.  We picked him up yesterday morning, and he was grinning and filthy!  Both good signs!  His first words were "I want to come back next year!"

He apparently made a good impression on the counselors, because a couple of counselors at the checkout table had nothing but great things to say about him.  We got him to describe some of the things he got to do, even though he's never been great at retelling his experiences.

The only downer was that I didn't trust him with the knowledge that I had left money for him at the camp store.  I instructed his counselor to let him know if there was anything he needed he could get it, but I didn't want him to think it was a free-for-all at the store.  In hindsight, I'm surprised at myself.  I've always trusted him fully with his choices, and let the natural consequences speak for themselves if he chose badly.  I don't know why I withheld that information from him.  His counselor failed to let him know, and as a consequence, he didn't know he could buy new batteries for his flashlight.  He had a few bad nights of being scared of the dark (after he kindly gave his replacement batteries to another boy who needed them).  The realization that it could have been different brought him instantly to tears, and it took a while to calm him down.

However, he's already talking about next time, so I guess he had a great time!  In true Avery fashion, he is already considering whether he wants to forego another birthday party to go to camp, or wait an extra year so he can have the Chuck-E-Cheese party he's been thinking about all year!  I guess I'm doing something right!