By: Hallie Grodin
CAN. NOT. SIT. STILL. The excitement is bursting out of me. Visiting day is tomorrow and I don’t remember a time I excitedly anticipated a day this much, I mean besides the birth of our kids and wedding day of course. Now I know that’s putting a lot of pressure on this day, I know it will be emotional, it may not be perfect, but it’s going to be GREAT I have no doubt!
I can still picture the excitement as a camper I felt anticipating the day and the moment I saw my parents part through the trees and head on in to camp.
I can picture that moment exactly from each and every summer of my camper years. Besides the fact that I still maintain I am not as old as my parents seemed to me when I was a camper (note, I’m the same exact age my mom was my first summer) it is so surreal how I can remember that moment and now I am on the other side of it.
I have checked and rechecked all I am bringing him a million times. The extra soccer socks ✅ goggles ✅ more books (I’m so impressed) ✅ more suntan lotion ✅ and of course the crap ✅. I really tried to keep it to a minimum. I still recall how sick we would all get the night of visiting day trying to stuff our faces with everything our parents brought. We hid food in all places to try and make it last longer…behind posters, dug a hole under the bunk and hid food there (omg how DISGUSTING) and my personal fave was when one of my best friends hid m&ms in her pants and underpants (that were on her), sadly it all started to fall out when she walked away and we got caught! So my boy needs some stuff so he can have memories just as wonderful!
I know he will get emotional…emotional when he sees us and definitely at the end of the day when we are leaving. But I also know that he is in great hands and those tears will be fleeting before he is busy in another activity having the time of his life. That doesn’t mean I won’t be in tears when I am leaving, I have a feeling mine will be less fleeting!
I’ve seen the articles, pictures etc of the “running of the Jews” and have laughed along the way, thinking that would never be me! I have been reassured that it’s really not like that at my son’s camp. While I believe and am glad that is the case, I also know that once I see my son from afar I will be sprinting like Usain Bolt, I’m just hoping not to trip on my other kids as I race ahead of them :)
I need to go and pace some more, because that will help the time go by! My husband has already been warned and knows not to mess with me…we are leaving on my time table, even if it means we will be sitting and waiting a while for entry! My parents were always the first to arrive in the visiting day line, I wouldn’t want to break family tradition…
BRING ON VISITING DAY!
