A few weeks ago I mentioned how nervous I was about the whole summer planning process for DS1. We don’t have all our plans in place yet, but choosing a camp ended up being easier than I thought.
I knew that I only wanted to send DS1 to a local (no buses), established camp (no backyard playgroup types) and luckily there were two great options in our area. It was hard differentiating between the two, but in the end we decided on the camp with slightly longer hours and a few extra days in the camp schedule.
I was nervous that DS1 wouldn’t know anyone going to that camp, so before signing him up I asked his teachers if they knew where the other kids in his class were going. They said it was still too early to tell where all the kids would be spending their summers (which I knew, since I wanted to take advantage of the early-bird specials), but gave me a few moms to call who would be more likely to send to camp. I got super lucky and on my second phone call, the mom I was speaking to said she already sent in the paperwork for the camp we wanted to send to. Perfect! Now that DS1 would have a friend with him, we felt comfortable with our decision and signed him up.
Although this camp is a great option it is definitely not perfect- especially for a family with two working parents. The hours are 9am to 4pm… ending at 4 is ok because we have our afternoon babysitter, but a 9am drop-off? I still have to figure that one out. When I mentioned this dilemma to the camp directors they told me that it was common and when it gets closer to the start of camp they can give me names of staff members who would be willing to babysit for the hour before camp. Yay… more $$$.
Of course the mommy guilt is still there, especially since I don’t see how I can take DS1 to camp every morning like I take him to school. At this point I’m not sure what I can do about that, but I am aware that it’s something I want to try and work out.
Even though there are still gaps in the plan, it’s such a relief to know which direction this summer is going in. Now what to do about the weeks in between school and camp? That will just have to wait…
Until next time,
Shaindy
