Summer Blog Post August 8th

Tonight, a Guest Blog Post from one of Camp Green Lane Parents and Alumnus:

A text conversation between myself and a friend last night:

Her: Are you excited for the kids to come home?

Me: Nope.

Her: What?

Me: I would love to hug, kiss, and snuggle them, throw them into the shower, do their laundry, pack them up, and send them right back to camp.

Her: ….

IYKYK, amirite?

If you knew that your kids spent 10 months dreaming about camp…. telling the same camp stories over and over…. spending all of their free time texting and FaceTiming their camp friends….

If you knew that said 10 months were spent twiddling their thumbs until they could resume living their best lives….

If you knew that camp was where your kids were their most authentic selves….

Would you want them to come home?

If you knew that they like camp food more than whatever it is you’ve spent the last hour over a hot stove preparing….

If you knew that the depths of their camp friendships transcend anything outside the arches….

If you knew that the confidence built at camp would be the foundation upon which they will build so many pieces of their lives….

Would you want them to come home?

If you knew that they are learning that they can be completely unplugged and not only survive, but thrive…

If you knew that they were in a place where showing affection to friends — hugging, hand-holding, lap-sitting, arms-around-shoulders — was the MO….

If you knew that there was no FOMO, because everything they needed was right there in one place….

Would you want them to come home?

Don’t get me wrong, I love my children more than anything, and I truly AM excited for them to come home this weekend, but the last week of camp creates a pit in my stomach. Knowing that yesterday was the last bagel lunch. That leagues and tournament champions will soon be crowned. That trunks will soon line the roads, and the packing begins. With each “last ______” of the summer, my heart aches for my kids. The weeks spent at camp are so special and so fleeting and I hate when they come to an end. So as I sit here listening to my “Feelin’ Campy” Spotify playlist, writing this instead of working, I am both excited and sad in equal measure. Camp days, camp nights, camp weeks… I wish that I could freeze time and let them enjoy it for just a little bit longer.

Yours In Camping,

Robin Stern Raskin