Hello Campah, It's Your Muddah

This is the time around here that the kiddies who were away at camp start coming home, tanned, taller, and jonesing for some of McDonald’s finest drive-through fare. And if you were a mom who was corresponding with one of them, your camper’s return comes not a minute too soon. ‘Cause you miss ‘him? Well, that too. But primarily because you’ve just about run out of things to write about to your camping offspring.

The campers have all that Color War, canoe trip, and campfire excitement to cover, and when all else fails, complaints about the food (or not; an addressed but empty envelope still gets you into the dining hall). But I remember wracking my brain trying to come up with anything vaguely interesting to tell my kids when they were off at camp. “Hi, honey, went to work again today and then stopped at the supermarket” hardly makes for fascinating correspondence matter.

Then again, it’s a fine line we letter-writing parents must walk. If the letter’s too exciting, your camper starts to wonder what he’s missing; too boring, and you run the risk of sending both of you into a narcoleptic episode.

So, until next summer’s camp correspondence conundrum, welcome home campers. Thank your lucky stars that you’ll only have to hear – and not read – all about mom’s next fascinating activity: washing your moldy swim towels, bleaching your grime-encrusted socks, and checking your head for that four-letter word that sends fear through every mother’s ‘hood: lice.

Comments

My comment has to deal with sending a child to camp. Although it does give the tyke something to possibly look forward to. I find it a way of parents putting their children aside so that they can have peace.
Children are being babysat by television,video games,and camp. Where are the parents in this scenario? Children should be looked after by the parents, and when the parents do not have time for their children...they send them to camp,television,and video games.
Sure..the experience maybe the parents idea, but I think subconscieously they like the idea of peace to be able to have a vacation from their children. What does a child who has been sent to camp every year look back on when they are adults?
There should be a bonding with the child with the parent(s) taking time for eachother. They acquire a closeness that the child views as 'fun' with the parent.
I just do not see how there could be any positive view when the child is an adult..shoved aside each summer so the parent(s) can be without them.

Charlie, I hear what you are saying and agree that for some kids and some families, sleepaway camp might not be the best answer. However, many camp programs are only a week or two long, and give a child the opportunity to develop skills, interests, and most importantly, a sense of self-confidence and sufficiency not available from staying at home. Then, too, with the reality of so many two income households, a sojourn at camp becomes a terrific alternative to less stimulating situations when both parents are working all day.

Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts. Cheers, Laurie