June 13 13

Me: Hey Josh, guess what? I signed you up for sleepover camp!

Him:

joch-camp-3

josh-camp-2

Josh-camp

He seemed really excited about.

If by excited you really mean sad, angry, and shocked.

But here’s the thing.

I’m the MOM.

And sometimes all of the goshdarn time MOM gets to make the rules and decisions. Imagine! I mean, sure, I’m a battle picker by nature. I mean, have you ever been at my house at 11pm—there are usually three children still awake. In their rooms, mind you, but awake nonetheless. But, they get up on their own for school and get dress on their own for school and walk out the door at 8:40am on their own each morning. Battle picking at its finest, I’d say. But while my children do get a say in some things—We’d rather have spaghetti and meatballs, Mama—Can we play Clue instead of Settlers of Catan?—FINE WE CAN HAVE MENCHIE’S—sometimes they just do not.

They take swimming lessons. I don’t care if they don’t want to.

They brush and floss their teeth. I don’t care if they don’t want to.

They go to school every day. I don’t care if they don’t want to.

My son is going to sleepover camp. I don’t care if he doesn’t want to.

Because I know. I know my son, and I know how much he’s going to love the heck out of it.

I went to sleepover camp for 11 years and have absolutely nothing but amazing memories about it—it’s such a big part of who I am.

(In fact, I even snagged myself a husband at camp.)

I don’t remember the crappy food or the possible homesickness on the first night or the frizzy hair or the freezing showers or the bug bites or the sand in my bed (actually that I kind of do remember…).

What I remember is the fun, the friends, the freedom. I remember the late nights and the cabin raids and the nukem volleyball (seriously, what the heck was that?) and the rollerskating trips and the overnights and the color war breakouts and the singing and the saturday morning cookies and making mix tapes and the blue and white Friday nights and the inside jokes that my parents just didn’t understand.

You know, all the things my daughter came home with last year.

Sometimes you just know your kid. I knew he’d love baseball, I knew he’d love his new school, I knew he’d love this new hoodie I just bought him.

And I know he’s going to love camp.

So he doesn’t get a say.

Not this time.

Want to read more?

Check out me, on the internet, in a bathing suit. Eeep!

Check out how I got to be Kelly Ripa that one time.

 

 

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  1. He’s going to LOVE it! Although, I’m sad I will miss him and Emma when I’m there!

    Comment by Kristabella on June 13, 2013
  2. I was confused by this ‘Menchies’ you speak of… til Google told me it’s a frozen yogurt store. A frozen yogurt store with a location *near my house*! Awesome! (Also, Yogurty’s have been sprouting up all over the place and they’re almost the same thing (and by almost I mean exactly, except for the name)).

    I always wanted to go to Summer Camp and my parents never let me. But I feel like I would have had a kick-butt time, as I’m sure Josh will…

    Comment by Laurie on June 13, 2013
  3. My kids prefer Menchie’s to Yogurty’s…but I would never say no to either 🙂

    Comment by ali on June 13, 2013
  4. Love this.

    I keep telling my kids that it’s not a democracy. On very good days, it’s a benign dictatorship.

    Your son is going to have an amazing time and will appreciate reading this when he is the dad, sending his child to summer camp.

    Comment by Rebecca Einstein Schorr on June 16, 2013
  5. […] breathe—it’s chock full of Josh’s baseball games, relatives and friends visiting, sleepover camp, a trip to Virginia and DC, a weekend at Clevelands House—but it’s those little moments, […]

    Pingback by 18 Summers: Live ‘Em, Love ‘Em | Cheaper Than Therapy on June 19, 2013
  6. We do the same thing. I asked my boys for several years if they wanted to do a drama camp or a play and they would always say no. Last year I just signed them up and told them that their grandma had done it (i.e. they would be going and there would be no discussion about it) and they LOVED it. I figured last year would be the last chance to really do that (they were 8 and 11 then) and if you don’t get boys involved before they get too self-conscious, then they’ll never try it.
    This year I asked them and they couldn’t wait for me to get the paperwork done (if they had said no, I wouldn’t have pursued it this time since they really had an understanding of what would be involved.

    I hope Josh has a great time!!

    Comment by Magoop on June 21, 2013
  7. I’m a firm believer in pushing our kids to try new things. They’ll never know that they don’t like it until they try it.
    Except for flossing.
    I hate flossing.

    Comment by Kimberly on June 21, 2013
  8. […] They are already ready to go back, begging me to sign them up for both sessions for summer 2014. I AM SAYING I TOLD YOU SO. […]

    Pingback by BRB, My Laundry Is Buzzing | Cheaper Than Therapy on August 9, 2013
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