This blog is a test. It’s a test that comes from my own insecurities as a mother sending my “babies” off to camp to be cared for by counselors who I do not know and are not influenced by me. It’s a test to see if I can use my experiences, knowledge, and relationship with the Executive Director to help support other parents who might also be even the slightest bit anxious about their kids going off to camp.
This blog started from an email conversation I had with Jody a few months ago. Basically asking him how I was going to let my kids go to camp? I knew I had to let them go, every parent must let their child go at some point. And it’s a very unreasonable feeling for me to have considering I have NEVER had trouble leaving my kids in nurseries or with baby sitters. I look forward a lot of times to having space and time away from my kids. But for some reason sending them off to camp is something altogether different.
I started having these unfamiliar feelings as a Camp Director beginning to relate to parents on a different level now that I had my own kids. I could only imagine how difficult it would be to drop your kids off for a week and trust ME and the counselors not only for the physical well being of your child, but their mental well being as well. I took that very seriously. I started to impress upon my staff those very thoughts. These children are someone’s “babies” that you’re being trusted with!
Emma went to Girl Scout Camp a couple years ago and it was hard to leave her. I wasn’t allowed to take her to her cabin and help her settle in. I literally handed her over to a strange counselor with an eager smile across her face. It was a very unsettling feeling that I did not have a hand in training these counselors on how to take care of my kid and the other campers as well. She came home, of course, having had a great time. But, I spent the week anxiously scanning picture after picture to see her smiling face. It was a very odd thing for me, this feeling of anxiety over camp. I LOVE camp and think every child needs to experience it multiple times.
Jody, after snickering at my anxiety, made a statement something to the effect of… “You know too much about Camp which is a gift. What can we do with this gift?” This, of course, leading to conversations about how to support other parents going through similar feelings. We came up with the idea of this blog to serve several purposes.
1. Gives parents a different insight to camp through a former Camp Director who has worked with Jody Oates in the past, trained camp staff, planned and implemented programming with children like yours in mind, and just as a mom.
2. Gives another avenue for parents to comment and give feedback. I’m here to answer questions and/or find the answers to the questions I can’t answer. I will be in direct contact with Jody during the course of the summer. I will be visiting camp each week to see how things are going. I can even give you some feedback on your child if you’d like. Just ask.
3. Gives the counselors and staff at Asbury Hills a unique perspective to the” parent experience” that other camp facilities do not have. How many other camps will give you, the parent, the opportunity to ask questions, give feedback, and let us know how things are going from your end?
It is my pleasure to be blogging. I look forward to hearing from you as your child got to Camp Asbury Hills and has the experience God intends for him/her to have. And who knows, maybe your child will become great friends with one of my two as well!
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