Parent’s Day at Summer Camp

Isaac’s Day Camp held its Parent’s Day today, busing a sweaty microcosm of the Bronx up to the woods of Pearl River for a few hours to see how much fun the kids are having every day, and why they fall asleep so easily at bedtime! Isaac was already in the pool for their morning swim when we arrived, and I caught about 15-20 minutes of him happily holding his breath underwater and splashing around, and reluctantly learning how to float with and without a boogie board. He was easy to find in the midst of a ton of kids because of his bright green goggles.

After the swimming, all of the parents joined their kids’ respective groups and spent the next four hours hanging with them as congregated at their morning pow wow for announcements and camp songs,

…a game of tee ball, where I had flashbacks to our softball game Monday night (which we lost 14-10, with me contributing three errors at shortstop when my arm inexplicably went dead and going only 1-4 at the plate),

…and after a lunch break we hit the drama tent where they warmed up with a goofy song and then pretended to make a big group cake, including acting like chickens and laying the eggs.

After a bathroom break, it was time for a game I’d never seen before, where everybody gathers around what seemed like a rainbow parachute, flapping it up and down, bouncing a ball back and forth, attempting to get it to a specific person.

At one point, it was Isaac’s turn to get the ball, and I snapped a picture a split second before he got it…right in the face!

He was okay, though, shaking it off and getting right back into the game.

After a water break, it was time for the parents to head out, and apparently many of them hadn’t read the info the camp had sent home about the day because I heard several complaints about either not being able to take their kids home with them early, or not being able to stay the entire day. There were actually quite a few complainers I overheard throughout the day, including one mother saying she’d only sent her kid for half the summer because “who wants to be running around in the woods all day.” Because hanging out in the humid concrete jungle is preferable?

I’m glad things worked out the way they did with our tax refund coming when it did and Salomé’s job change happening after we’d already paid for the camp because Isaac’s having a blast, and more importantly, his willingness to try new things and be more extroverted is getting a nice boost. My biggest concern about him, especially as small as he is, is that he’d hit public school and be marked as an easy target because of his shyness and seemingly random fear of new things. Even though he hasn’t met anyone who will be going to his new school like I’d hoped, his experiences this summer will definitely put him in a much better position for a comfortable transition and give him the confidence to tackle new things without fear.

Days like this make me feel old, but in a good, proud father kind of way. 🙂

Written by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is the Chief Content Officer for LibraryPass, and former publisher & marketing director for Writer’s Digest. Previously, he was also project lead for the Panorama Project; director, content strategy & audience development for Library Journal & School Library Journal; and founding director of programming & business development for the original Digital Book World.

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