Camp de-brief

Another first. Sweet child of mine is back from his first ever camping experience. First ever night without either parent - and I wasn’t in his cabin the previous/ first night either but at least I was in the camp and had seen him all day and sat near him at dinner.

I was in a cabin with 6 girls. One of them was so very homesick - after being fine all day long it was at night that she broke down and she sobbed hysterically for 2 hours before semi-passing our from exhaustion. It took all my words and power of persuasion to help her calm down and understand her Mum would be at the bus stop to collect her on Wednesday and that her mum loved and missed her and that all parents cannot possibly volunteer. When she finally fell asleep I thought I could get some shut eye too but she woke up nearly every hours lol night long  wanting me to sit on the edge of her bed and hold her hand. By 5 am we both gave up trying to sleep. I got to come home by noon and after a quick bite to eat and a shower got a 4 hour deep nap in. 

This afternoon Kid got off the bus and said ‘Hi Mom. I’m ok. I didn’t miss you but I was a bit homesick.’. He looked exhausted, shattered beyond anything I have ever seen so I gave him a solid snack and then got him into a hot bath to soak for a bit. Some mindless TV and a few books later it was dinner time. Halfway through he needed a little cuddle and some calming words. I think it’s all added up: being brave without his folks, sleeping in an unknown bed two nights in a row, the non stop physical activity. At 6pm he has gone to bed. ❤️. I had underestimated how much I would miss him for this one night. I’m so glad he is back.