Ready, set, off to camp she goes...

So, she did it. My daughter. She went to sleep away camp. I’ll hold off on confirming that it’s a roaring success, because she just left today… but I’m confident that I will be saying just that on Friday when I pick her up at the end.

Last year, when I broached the idea of a one week sleep away camp, she told me NO in no uncertain terms. She wasn’t ready. This year, when we revisited the idea, she jumped enthusiastically at the idea. She was ready. Yay!

I took the hint. I signed her up. As it was still winter, we waited. We talked about it from time to time and she became increasingly excited. When she expressed concern about the unfamiliarity of the camp, we signed up for a mother/daughter weekend to get acquainted. Together, we attended an overnight at the camp. We went swimming. We ate in the dining hall. We saw the sleeping quarters. We enjoyed an art project. More importantly, we got our “What if” questions answered, replacing them with simple and reasonable solutions. Concerns disappeared. Yay again.

Then summer arrived. I attacked the shopping/packing list and we packed the final stage together. She wasn’t nervous. She was EXCITED!

And then it was the day before departure.

She had been asking me, for ages, to dye her hair a cool color like bright pink. I had agreed, but life logistics had competed with following through. In light of her camp departure, I suggested that we do it before camp. She loved the idea and we spent a few hours dying a chunk of hair pink. She was thrilled with the results. She wore it proudly.

We are not a family who co-sleeps or stays with our kids until they are asleep. We leave them, awake, and they fall asleep on their own. The night before departure, however, she was WIRED. And I do mean wired. She was nervous. Finally… it’s hit her. She’s going to camp and there’s no way she’s falling asleep on her own.

I crawl into bed with her and rub her back, intending to leave after a short time, but she disagreed. She decided that our house has a new rule. The night before week long sleep away camp, mommies fall asleep with their kids. And since it was a new rule, I obliged. We cuddled and fell asleep. When I woke up a few hours later, she was snoring and dreaming. I left and she didn’t notice.

Today, she got on that bus with a smile. When we arrived at the location, she helped haul her stuff with no fuss. She cooperated with the lice check. I had to grab her for a goodbye hug and kiss. Then she was off.

And yes, that is when I started to cry. She boarded that big bus with dark windows and it sat there as the check in line dwindled to nothing. I couldn’t see her, couldn’t touch her, but she was there. Just out of my reach. Already gone but still right there.

She’s gonna do great. I know this. But I’m gonna miss her.