Our Little Day Camper
Today is Moanna’s first day of day camp! We sent her off into the world with a lunch box and a bathing suit.
Steve and I thought Moanna would be awake before the sun and ready to hit the door before the alarm went off. Surprisingly she was still zonked when we went in to wake her up, and teasing her with “Guess what today is!?” didn’t provoke the wild excitement she had last night before bed. It took her until she was dressed before she was really awake and ready for the adventures ahead of her.
When we dropped her off, she a little bit nervous and shy. This is not at all something we had anticipated. She is usually the social butterfly, the life of the party. There were no tears involved, and no “Please don’t leave me” fits. She just wasn’t ready to jump in with the kids right away. She was mostly concerned about when the “exciting things” were going to happen and she wanted to know what those exciting things would be. We told her that she would play games, swim, have lunch and snacks, do crafts and that there would be surprises. After that she shifted from nervous and shy to, “OK I’m done with you two. Give me my kisses and we’ll talk about this when I get home.”
Steve got a little emotional as we walked out of the basketball court. There were no tears involved, and no, “Please don’t make me leave her” fits. He just was taken back by how grown up she’s getting and the idea of counselors being responsible for her survival made him a bit antsy.
He went to work out and I went to set by the pool and read for a bit before we headed home. When Steve joined me at the pool, I asked if he checked on Moanna. Not only did he check on her, but he checked three times. His defense was, “But I could look down into the gym from the window where I was working out and watch her play. I didn’t actually GO check on her.”
Now we’re home and there is no Moanna running around the house. Steve is upstairs getting ready for a talk and I’m realizing that I have more things on my to-do list than I can possibly accomplish while Moanna is gone during the days. Before I get to that list, I’m taking a minute to bask in the silence. This is what it must feel like when your kids go to school for the first day. Once the excitement and tears wear off (I’m a bad Mommy – there were no tears), you sit and soak in the silence, taking great pleasure in the fact that someone isn’t yelling “Mom! Mom! Mooooooom! Mommy! Mooommmmmy!” every time you sit down or get started on a project. It’s glorious.
Aww! I hope she has a blast today!
All Mom’s know of the angst of leaving your child in the care of others for the first time. It is gut wrenching but necessary in their becoming an independent person…………..getting a little ahead of myself but you know what I mean. Even though my babies are in their 50′s I still remember those times and the first time their feelings get hurt by some mean kid. Hard lessons for them and you to learn. “Momma Tiger” is not buried very deep. Love you all and miss you all so very much.