Packing for Waldemar

When I was a child, in the summers I went to Boy Scout camp and church camp. Each camp was a week long and lots of fun. I remember reading some stories about kids who went to camps that lasted for weeks and weeks, even all summer long. I remember wondering if these camps were real. If they were real, where are they, and how do kids get to go to them? I’m 40 and I’m finally learning all about these kinds of camps.

My daughter is going to a camp for a month in south Texas. This is a girl’s camp that started in 1926 and has been doing the same or at least a very similar program every summer for almost 80 years. Macy has been on the waiting list since she was born and this is her first year as Waldemar camper.

For me camp was a week long, and I spent more time worrying about who else was going to be there than I did about what I was taking. Packing wouldn’t start until the night before I left. I was only going to be gone for a week, how much forethought and preparation could there be?

Packing for this camp is a whole different kind of summer camp packing than I’ve ever done before. Maybe I’m slow, but I had a hard time getting the whole “4-week camp” idea through my head.

In my defense, there are two really big differences between this type of camp packing and the type of camp packing I've done.

Difference number 1: How long you’ll be gone.

For me, this was the obvious difference. When you’re packing for a week at camp and you forget something, no big deal. What can you possibly forget that you can’t easily borrow from a buddy, or simply due without for few days?

Not so for a month long camp. This is more akin to moving that it is to going to camp.

Difference number 2: The gender of the camper.

This is packing for a cute little girl, not some grubby boy.

What boys need can be packed easily into a small backpack or tote bag. Underwear, shorts, t-shirts, socks, shoes and a toothbrush are about all a boy needs for camp. To tell the truth he really doesn’t even need an outfit for each day, since he’ll probably only change about once every other day anyway.

Girls, on the other hand, need LOTS of stuff. Understand that my daughter doesn’t actually leave for camp until July 8, but we’ve been shopping for camp stuff the entire month of June! While we aren't shopping every day, finding camp stuff has been on our minds since before school was out.

It’s funny, but as foreign as this kind of camp packing is to me, I find myself really getting carried away with it. It’s all too easy for me to get caught up in the whole checking the list (Yes, we have a list!) and making sure she has the stuff laid out and ready to actually put into her trunk.

With only a week left before I put my little darling on the bus that heads from Dallas to south Texas, I find myself finally having the chance to realize that I won’t see her for a whole month. Quite possibly all the packing has been a much-needed distraction from the truth…maybe that’s how it’s designed.

I’ve got plenty of projects here and at my parent’s new house to keep my mind occupied while she’s gone, as well as some long overdue vacation time for just Melissa and me. I guess we’ll see how well I hold up.

I’ll keep you posted.