Saturday, July 9, 2011

Camp photos

There is all this ruff on Facebook about posting new pictures from camp.  The more experienced parents are telling those of us less experienced parents to stop complaining about how long it has been since pictures have been posted.  Some of them in a not so nice way.

There seems to be some belief that if you see your kid smiling in a picture you know that they are ok.  Alright, but I would like to point out that the best picture I have of Mac is one taken when he was an itty bitty baby and he had spent the entire photo session crying.  I finally handed him his blanket and the rubbed it on his face.  The photo was snapped the minute he pulled it down from his face, smiled and then proceeded to cry again.  We got the smile.  Just because Mac is smiling in a photo does not mean he isn't tantruming in the next second or that he wasn't five minutes before.

I trust that they will call me and tell me if there is a problem.  I know that this is true, because they have already called me.  He had an axiety attack in the first 24 hours.  I am so proud.  But at least we got that out of the way.  It had to happen.  I told the unit head to call if he needed anything, but that I hoped he didn't need to call.  I spend my days hoping for no communication.  No news is good news in my world.  Hoping for no communication is a comfortable place for me.  I do send the kid to school regularly, and I regularly hope that there is no communication from the teachers.

If he isn't having fun in kid paradise, well then, who's problem is that?  Sure as heck not mine.  If you can not have fun some place where there is nothing to do but have fun, then you aren't trying hard enough.  Really, this place looks so awesome that I want to go.  The camp I went to and loved looks like an outhouse in comparison.  They get to go sailing, water skiing, rock climbing, hiking, they get to video tape the skits the create, the can play tennis, soccer, go swimming, sing songs... I am stopping only because the list is so long.  This a snowflake on the iceburg of their activities.

I am not worried that my kid isn't having fun.  I don't care if he is homesick.  Those are all things that are in the realm that HE controls, not me.  I have done everything I can to make sure that he has a good time.  Now, I get to sit back and see what happens.

I was totally honest with the camp about what to expect.  I didn't candy coat things.  If they are surprised by him, they they weren't listening to me.  Again, not my problem.  Things only become my problem if I have to get him early.  But think that unlikely.

So seeing pictures about what he is doing, is not really important to me in terms of my anxiety.  I am not anxious about what is happening at camp.  Curious? Yeah.  I think that is normal.  It is important to his brother and sister.  It is important to me because they are now excited to go to camp.  Sam, who firmly said he would not go to Jew Camp, now is considering it as a possibility because of the pictures.  I want them to be excited about it on the off chance that Mac hates it and does not want to do it again.  I don't want Mac's negativity to turn them off.  I think the opposite is likely, but I like to hedge my bets.

If they didn't have pictures, we would be ok.  But, because we have them, then I want to see them.  I am excited, the other kids are excited.  Don't get angry at us because we want to be part of the party.  You are the ones that invited us in the first place.

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