Summer Camp.

Today is the boy's first day of summer camp. First I just realized I almost never call him munchkin anymore - he's getting too big and too grown to think of as a munchkin. Time flies.

I worked hard to find what I thought would be a good camp for him. Last year I had what looked like a great one picked out but the cancelled it in May. Which means that from February to May I thought I was set and then suddenly in mid-May I was scrambling for a camp.

So last year he ended up at my second choice which was a camp from a nearby karate studio. He really liked it. The went bowling and swimming. They did a couple of trips. They had a karate lesson every day. It was a pretty good camp. But during the hottest days it was stifling in the warehouse they had camp in.

This year I perused ads early, went to the camp fair and read lots of flyers and websites. I really liked one camp, but not being a member of the local jewish group we weren't eligible. So I went with the local university. It's done by their athletic department. They do games and crafts and sports you don't normally do. They swim daily and get lessons. I hope he's having a good time!

Summers aren't the same for him as they were for me. Since I work he has to get up at the usual time and get dressed just like the school year. My summer mornings were spent lounging in jammies until noon then biking to the pool. It was 100% leisure. For him the only difference is where he goes and what does when he gets there.

To me it seems like an awesome responsibility to find something where they will be well taken care of, have fun activities, and get to do something different. I spoke to the neighbor. She's sending her kids to the rec & parks camp at the school. Table games, playground and a couple field trips. Her son hated it last year. She said she just couldn't swing anything else. Another mother sending her boy to the same camp said she knows it's not much different from the school year but she knows and trusts the people who run it.

I don't know. I can't give him the summers I had, but I want summer to be a little special for him.

I hope he's having fun!