Summer Day Camp for an Old, New, Borrowed, Blue Summer
I was thinking today of the saying for weddings. You know… “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.” For some reason, I started relating that to summer day camps—no, I wasn’t comparing weddings to summer camp! Just the saying. I have a nine-year-old daughter, and I thought that this phrase was actually appropriate for what I want her summer to look like:
Something Old—I like putting her in a summer day camp she has attended before. It means less stress for the both of us because we know what to expect, we know where we’re going, and we know how it all works together.
Something New—I would love for my daughter to attend a new camp, somewhere she will learn something she’s never explored before, maybe never even thought of before. This is probably the hardest one in my family. My daughter likes to stick with the familiar. But I think summer should be a time for kids to stretch their wings and explore brand-new hobbies or learn about something new.
Something Borrowed—This would be the money for camp. Just kidding! It seems this one doesn’t fit as well, but actually, there’s a lot of borrowing going on this time of year…of ideas. I’m constantly asking around about who is going to what camp this summer. I’d love to have my daughter go to the same camp as one of her friends—if I know one of her friends is going to a residential camp, I might even consider letting her go if she wants to. It adds a certain sense of security when the new adventure is shared.
Something Blue—Oh, I want my daughter outside in the summer. Under the blue skies, in the blue water, I don’t care; I just want her outside as much as possible. One of my biggest pet peeves is kids spending their days on video games, TV and computer. I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed in my household that when my kids get on the electronics, their patience and tolerance disappear rapidly. They hate to be interrupted. They become lost in their virtual world and resent coming out of it. In contrast, when they go outside, they are happy and engaged with real life. They TALK [gasp] to me. So I want LOTS of blue in my daughter’s summer. Thank God for summer day camps!
How about you? What does your child’s summer look like?