Silas went to a week of sleep-away camp for the first time. When people asked me what kind of camp, I think they meant, was it theater camp, church camp, wilderness camp? or something like that. I don’t know what this kind of camp is called—it’s camp camp. Like in The Parent Trap. Lanyards and chants and cabin checks.
Silas wishes to note that there were no lanyards, and the only canoe was in an archway. But I’m not being literal here, just trying to give a sense of the ambiance of it all
One of the reasons that he went was as preparation for some more specialized camp experiences he hopes to have in the next couple years, including a pre-college camp and at least one theater camp. We agreed that he should probably start out with something closer to home, so he went to a camp in West Virginia. His friends Arthur and Lillian were going, too, so he wouldn’t be lonely.
He sent me a truly miserable letter his second day there, but luckily I didn’t get it until several days after I brought him home, very happily chattering about what a great time he had. He learned to deal with the discomforts of camp, including snoring bunkmates, short showers, and different food than he’s used to. He took a cooking class, worked on the camp paper, and made tons of friends, because of course he did.
He tried out new games—tetherball, gaga, table tennis, and more. He went paddleboarding for the first time (“Lillian and I paddled out and then spent two hours talking about rocks in the middle of the lake. She knows a lot about…rocks.”). He got to the top of the zipline tower and then noped out of it, but I’m just proud of him for going up to take a look.
We missed him at home, and it felt weird to not have him around. We’re usually so completely in contact—I haven’t ever gone several days without having a sense of how he’s doing. The kids aren’t allowed to have phones at camp (and I think this is a good policy! But it felt weird not to get the occasional text from him).
Although the kids have been away from me and from JC, they haven’t been away from each other before. Silas remembers only one other time when he spent more than 24 hours away from Petra, and I can’t remember any others. She handled it pretty well. I think she enjoyed the quiet. They were happy to be back together when he came home, though.
Silas enjoyed camp, but he says he’d like his next camp to be more interest-focused. He did a drama class at this one, and it was a shallow cut compared to the theater education he’s gotten in his life. I think that might have been his least favorite part of the experience. He did well, managed himself, came home with a bunch of good memories, new penpals, and an appreciation of table tennis. A win, overall!
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