Yesterday we dropped my baby to camp. Baby - ha! She is 14 going on 30. Full of personality and drama and confidence. Last year she went to this camp for one week. She fell in love. She attended hockey camp where she stayed for a week and loved that as well. But she truly fell in love with the traditional summer camp experience. Her goal was to go for the entire summer, except our Bear Lake week, but she would have had to earn the money for that (camp is $500 per week). She did not earn as much as she hoped, so she is going for three weeks instead. She is there now for two straight weeks, we pick her up for one week at Bear Lake and then drop her back for a final week.
Her excitement and nerves all week have been forces to reckon with. She has been all over the board, with highs and lows. It's all very understandable but also a bit exhausting. Once there, however, she really fell into place - she is ready.
It was fun to share the trip with my husband and my son - last year it was just my son and I. It would have been nice to have my oldest daughter along as well. We borrowed a car to give ours a break and it just would have been a pretty squashed fit for all of us and the stuff headed to camp. My oldest chose a quiet day at home.
Once we dropped Natalie, we went out to dinner at a local place in Oscoda. Good, homemade food and good beer (lemonade for the boy). We took the Scenic Byway through the Huron National Forest and made some stops for oooing and aaahhhing and some great pictures. A final stop at an "up north" ice cream parlor was just the thing. It was a quiet, dozy ride home from there.
I've only checked the website once for pictures of her at camp. And only one email so far. Trying to strike that balance between letting her know we are thinking of her and not smothering. It's a tough one!
