A photo of my daughter at camp last year
Through kisses, hugs and tears, my daughter and I said our goodbyes as she gathered her courage and headed out the door for 3 weeks off to overnight summer camp. I tried to hold my head high and fought off the tears so it would not add to her anxiousness, but they brimmed in my eyes despite my best efforts. We were both sad even though we both knew that she was off to have the time of her life.
The minute she walked out the door with my husband, I burst into tears. My son was home with me. We had discussed the fact that his sister would be leaving for a long time. “Good,” he responded! “I hate her!” They had a warm goodbye last night though, and she even got him a going away present. She woke him up this morning with a kiss., and they had a sweet moment together.
She was gone, and I sat down on my couch with tears streaming down my cheeks. Suddenly, I heard loud sniffles, and they weren’t coming from me. My son was crying just as hard as I was. “Why are you crying,” I asked. “Your really are going to miss her, aren’t you?” He nodded his head “yes” unable to speak as he was choked up with emotion. Sometimes it’s the toughest guys who are the most sensitive.
So she is “Gone, gone, gone,” and my crazy obsessive motherhood is kicking in as I find sneaky ways of checking up on her. There will be emails from the camp letting us know of her progress and photos that will be uploaded onto the camp website. I will check them all religiously soaking up any info I can.
My song of the day is Phillip Phillip’s “Gone, Gone, Gone,” because even though I am thrilled for this experience for my baby girl, I am feeling the loss of her today. Three weeks of missing my most precious angel. I hope I get through it!