Thank God for Summer Camp

All hail the summer savior, that lifeline I have come to call "mother's little helper". I'm referring, of course, to summer camp.

I have friends who can't wait for school to let out. Partially due to the release from homework, lunches and bus schedules but mainly because they can't wait for their children to be home with them 24/7. In June, a friend of mine and a mother of four children asked me "Aren't you looking forward to having your kids home with you all the time?" to which I replied "Hell no!" Now, I love my children, and I enjoy spending time with them, but the problem lies with spending time with them together. My kids love nothing better than to needle each other, which leads to complaints, whining, tears, tattling and eventually someone's hands on the other's body. Which leads to more complaints, whining, tears, tattling and...well you get the picture.

And that's where summer camp comes in. Wedged in between our trips to the beach, Canobie Lake Park, the movies, relatives and the zoo are those blissful weeks when someone else is responsible for enriching my children's lives. For those few short hours, I can feel confident that my children are exercising their bodies and their minds, away from the temptation of video games, television and the computer. (And when I say temptation, I mean my temptation. After enough begging, pleading and cajoling, I tend to cave, especially if I am trying to get something done).

Planning for summer camp is my favorite winter activity. I mean really, who doesn't love trying to envision your entire summer schedule in the dead of winter? Let's spin the roulette wheel and try to guess which camp my children will feel like attending in five months. Will it be nature camp? The YMCA? Park & Rec? Choose wisely my friend, because if you hesitate there is someone right behind you, hungry for your child's spot.
My younger son is pretty easygoing when it comes to camp, so this year he opted for Park and Rec. His counselor was great, he had friends in his group, and his only major complaint was that there seemed to be an unusual shortage of Italian Ices (perhaps the boat from Italy was held up in customs? Or maybe Italian Ices are out of season.)

My older son is a bit more challenging when it comes to camp. He's not a sports enthusiast, and he's done nature camp for several years. So this year we chose College Academy (or as my friend refers to it: Bill Gates Camp. Yeah, Bill Gates is a geek but he's the world's richest geek, so I say bring it on!) My son has been enjoying days filled with cartooning, video production and something called "Going Green" a class that focuses on recycling. And yes, Fantasy Adventures (a generic title for Dungeons and Dragons). Say what you will, but each day when he steps off the bus and I ask about his day, his reply always begins with "Great!"

One year I re-painted my entire living room during the first two days of summer camp, which set the bar for summers to come. Since then, I've always made a mental list of all the things I'll get to once the kids are in camp. (Forget about the fact that I never got to these things while the kids were in school). Stripping wallpaper, weeding flower beds and re-painting trim were all projects I had hoped to achieve in the weeks when my children were at camp. Yet when a friend would call, luring me to the beach or to lunch or a quick trip to Boston, I'd always allow myself to be swayed, thinking that there would be plenty of other camp days to get my to-do list done.

And now that my younger son is finished with Park and Rec, and my older son has just a week of camp left, did I accomplish any of these tasks?

Umm...let's just say these will be wonderful, enriching, bonding activities my children and I can do together in the remaining weeks of summer.