Just when I think I have this whole “parenting” gig figured out, along comes a little incident that makes me glad that I don’t.
About a week or so ago my little one was off to spend a week away at a sleep away camp with some of her friends and members of her brownie troop. She was kinda nervous because she was going to be gone for a “whole” week and I imagine that the prospect of meeting new people in new surroundings might be a little “scary” for an eight year old. Both me and her mom did our best to reassure that things were going to be ok but even though she put on a brave face, we could still tell that she was nervous about the whole event. She promised she would write us a postcard.
Now, I don’t know about you folks out there but when I get an image of what a sleep away camp is and what they do there, my mind creates a certain picture. Said picture would consist of things such as swimming, horse back riding, canoeing, arts and crafts, hiking, campfires, s’mores, roasting marshmallows, counselors, games, food, other kids, and so on and on.
I got home from work yesterday and lo and behold, there was indeed a post card addressed from someplace called Camp Willyloma. At first a smile crossed my face because the first thought that crossed my mine was that she had fulfilled her promise. I turned the card over and expected to read about any of the subjects that I’ve previously mentioned or something related. Any even bigger smile crossed my face when I turned the card over and saw the scrawl of an eight year old that simply read….
Dear Dad,
Camp great! I keep on dreaming that a possessed apple is chasing me! I’m having a great time!
Love,
Anna T.
Huh? I’m not much into dream interpretation or anything like that but I can’t for the life of me fathom what the heck this was supposed to mean. I’ll leave that kinda stuff to the “experts” in that field. In the meantime, I pick her up today and she’s with me through Sunday so I’m sure there will be much to discuss about the more traditional goings on at camp. I’m sure at some point we’ll get to the dream…
I wonder what the hell she sent her mother?