If You Were Wondering

Recently, there have been a lot of articles written on the topic of summer camp. Many of them stress the benefits of camp - the independence, the great adventures and experiences, and the community that a child who attends camp becomes a part of.  

There are just as many articles being released about the negative aspects of summer camp. Look at all that family time that disappears when children are gone for 8-weeks of the summer. The fully packed days at overnight camp are quite reminiscent of the over scheduled lives we create for our children during the school year. Camp is not for everyone...

How do you know if overnight camp is not for you (or yours)?

I can't really answer that (well, I can - but that's much more than I want to write right now). And, truthfully, mom's intuition - as always - will provide your best answer. Other than that, there really is no absolute way to determine whether or not your child will have a successful experience at camp.   

If I had any doubts about whether Aaron belonged at camp or not - I guess my answer came today.  Since we are in Boulder for the summer, I am trying to take advantage of it.  We head out for a hike every morning, exploring various Boulder and nearby Boulder trails.

Since Aaron has returned from camp, he has been under the weather with a terrible cough and has stayed home.  This morning, I had him come along.  I had chosen a simple hike, along a creek, with no climbing.

It was a lovely trail - a big buggy (why did I leave the bug spray on the counter?) and many, long patches of unshaded area (Boulder is reaching the 90's and the sun is quite strong, even for those of us used to the desert heat) - but the sounds of the rushing creek kept us company and the trail wound through beautiful forest with the snow covered mountains in the distance.  There were some good pictures along this trail!

I was walking ahead at one point, and - suddenly - the blood piercing scream that only Aaron can deliver came through the trees. He came around the corner, screaming and waving his arms. It looked like he was swimming frantically away from a group of sharks (and, perhaps, in his mind - he was).

Aaron found the perfect walking stick - until he picked it up and discovered it was home to hundreds of beetle-like bugs. That's why he was screaming. That's why he dropped his pack in the middle of the trail.  And, that is why he continued to whimper for several minutes after I told him "It's over. You are ok."

So, maybe camp focused on outdoor adventures is not really his kind of thing.  In the meantime, we'll keep hiking and camping and molding so that it becomes his thing.