In one week, my daughter and I leave for an adventure. I am taking 20+ kids away to an overnight summer camp in Malibu, CA where we’ll spend 4 glorious nights in cabins doing all things campy. When the rest of the group returns back to Tucson, my daughter and I will stay in Los Angeles for the weekend with friends. Then, on the following Tuesday morning, her Uncle and I will drop her off for her own summer camp experience. She will be staying for two whole weeks by herself. As the days are getting closer to our departure, the reality of my baby being away from me for two weeks is starting to set in.
When I was her age, my parents sent me to overnight camp for a month at a time. I loved every minute of it. In fact, you could say that those experiences had a huge impact on my life. Being a music teacher and song leader most certainly stems back to my time at summer camp and much of my repertoire comes from those spirit-filled raucous dining hall song sessions.
That said, the idea of having zero contact with her for that amount of time is making me ill at ease. There will be no phone calls, no emails, no texts….nothing. We will just have to wait for the occasional snail mail letter. Holy moly….how in the world am I am going to be able to deal with this?
Don’t get me wrong…I am THRILLED for her beyond words. She has such a campy personality, and I know she will love camp. As a parent, I know that sending her to camp is one of the best things I could ever do for her, and in some ways, I almost feel like I am passing down the torch. It is her turn. So why do I have tears brimming in my eyes as I am writing this blog today? These tears hold such a mixture of emotions….happiness for giving my girl this opportunity that I know will be life-changing, sadness knowing that I will miss her, fear that I will not be there for her every need and so much love for my amazing child. Uggghhh….being a parent is a roller coaster ride!
So, as I am getting ready to send my little one on her way, I have the need to acknowledge these feelings and put them down in black and white. If they are written here, I know they are real.
My song of the day comes from my favorite camp movie of all times, “Meatballs!” ”Meatballs” was filmed at Camp White Pine in Halliburton, Ontario, Canada. It is where I went to youth group camp. I have seen this movie so many times reliving those camp moments. The song I chose for today’s blog was “The C.I.T.” song, because I love that the camp staff is sitting around a camp fire being zany. It captures the feeling of camp, and besides the lyrics of drinking, smoking and being “nooky-bound,” I want my daughter to make friendships and enjoy camp in all its full capacity. Click HERE to hear the song and watch a clip from the movie starring Bill Murray as I wish my daughter all of the fun-filled moments from camp that it shares and I remember.
