A week ago, Sarah and I dropped Amy off for an hour of kitten snuggles at Cats N’At while Sarah checked in for her sleep-away music camp at the Woodlands. Amy was in absolute heaven with a tiny black kitten on her lap and countless cats and kittens roaming around. Sarah was excited to settle in and meet her counselor. The first thing she asked her counselor was, “what’s your name?” The second question was, “What color are your eyes?” I felt hopeful that this counselor was a particularly good match. She had high energy and was engaging Sarah in a singing and dancing activity before I left. Still, I was uncertain about Sarah making it for the full week given that she never made it the full week before and given that I have still been sleeping on her floor at home. But, she was there with two of her friends from school so that did bode well overall.
Tuesday night at 9:15 I got a call from a different counselor saying that Sarah wanted to talk to me. She was homesick and wanted to come home. After a brief attempt to convince her to stay, I hopped in the car and went to get her, staying on the phone for the whole drive. Remarkably, as I took her back the next morning, I commented on how the remaining amount of time was the same as a weekend retreat. Sarah was already in good shape again, and this realization tipped the balance. She said she would see me Friday, and she happily rejoined her counselor and cabin-mates with barely a backward glance at me. What I learned that morning was that the night she was homesick was her usual counselor’s night off (the counselors at this camp are there for eleven weeks so of course they need a night off every week). My guess is that Sarah felt so secure with her counselor that when she went away, Sarah felt homesick, but that once she was back, Sarah was comfortable and content. It is always the best when the person matched with your kid really sees them and appreciates them for their best self.
Friday night, Carl, Amy, and I went to get Sarah and stay for the end-of-camp concert. It was absolutely wonderful. Sarah seemed so happy up on stage next to her counselor, singing the group songs and playing instruments. She was part of a small group song with her two school friends and some other campers. At one point Sarah waved to us, but I heard her say, “Hi, Granddad and Pop-Pop in spirit!” Then she looked away at other things. I quickly pulled out the pictures of Granddad and Pop-Pop that I always carry in my purse and held them so she could see them. When she next looked at me and noticed the pictures, her smile was sweet as if she felt deeply happy and at peace in her heart.
Amy had a full week while Sarah was away. She and some friends spent a day at Sandcastle, riding water slides and getting pummeled in the wave pool. Another day she and some friends tired themselves out at Kennywood riding rollercoasters, including some that had terrified her last year but that she braved again and actually enjoyed. She must get this trait of trying something she previously didn’t like from Carl, because she doesn’t get it from me. This whole business of going on scary rides does not come from me! Most of the rides at Sandcastle and Kennywood are known to us as Jenny’s Nightmare. What is amazing now is that I don’t even have to be there. Amy and her friends can navigate the parks all by themselves, which spares me acquiring new white hairs from even watching them on the rides.
While I didn’t go on any rides, Amy did make my head spin a bit by babysitting for the child of her former babysitter! How does time do this?! And then we had Carl’s 50th birthday party! What?! I spent some of the week relocating piles of stuff so our house would look more streamlined than usual and have more room for people. With Amy’s help I baked 72 cupcakes. That was way more than we needed, but that is important. Isn’t one of the cardinal rules of life One Must Not Run Out Of Cupcakes? The party was great fun, and we will be eating leftovers all week. To prepare for the party, I looked through many years of photos to help create a slide show. While I am well aware of who I married, it was a great reminder to see the digital evidence of what a fun, caring, adventurous man Carl is. He is always up for trying new things, takes on difficult physical challenges with excitement, eagerly dons costumes and attitudes to match whatever any moment of play calls for, and always wants to help solve any problem. We are so lucky to have him in our lives.
Wishing you snuggles, support, and laughter.
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