There are few greater adventures for kids than a Summer spent at sleepaway camp. The camaraderie they feel, the independence they learn, the skills they build, and the friends they make all add up to a few wonderful weeks away from home. For their parents, it's a bit more of an emotional roller coaster. There's the excitement the kids will experience (not to mention the fact that Mom and Dad get a little kid-free time), but there's also the heartache of sending your children away. So just how do parents handle the ups and downs of overnight camp? With a little drama, of course! Read on to see all the emotions you'll experience if you're sending the kiddos off this Summer!
Source: Disney [1]
The High You Feel Knowing that Camp Starts in Just a Few Weeks
The Dread You Feel of Packing . . . and Packing . . . and More Packing
The Irritation You Feel With Your Child Who Is Itching to Get to Camp Already
The Fear You Have That Your Child Won't Love Her Bunkmates, Her Counselor, the Activities, the Food . . .
The Strength You Find in Yourself as You Put Your Child on the Bus
The Farewell When the Bus Pulls Away
The Guttural Sadness You Feel When You Realize Your Baby Will Be Gone For the Whole Summer
Source: Giphy [2]
The Disappointment You Feel When You Don't See Your Child in the First Set of Photos the Camp Posts
Source: BBC [3]
The Scramble You Go Through to Get Letters to the Post Office on Time Each Day . . .
. . . because you wouldn't want your child to be the only who didn't get mail one day!
The Panic You Feel When You Don't See Your Child in Any of the Most Recently Added Photos
The Thrill of Knowing You and Your Partner Can Act Like Newlyweds Again With No Kids at Home
The Satisfaction in Having Called the Camp to Tell Them to Tell Your Child to Smile When the Camera's Around
Source: Hollywoodassistants [4]
The Dread of an Unexpected Phone Call From Camp
The Anger You Feel When You See in a Posted Photo That They Already Ruined the Expensive Sweatshirt You Bought
The Anticipation of that Moment When You First See Your Child on Visiting Day
The Adrenaline You Feel Racing to be the First Parent to Cross the Visiting Day Start Line
The Sizing Up of What Goodies Other Moms Brought on Visiting Day
The Thrill of Seeing Your Child So Happy on Visiting Day
The Sadness You Feel When You Have to Leave at the End of Visiting Day
The Realization That You Only Have Three Weeks Until Camp's Over . . .
. . . and you haven't gotten through half of your "while the kids are gone" list!
Source: MTV [5]
The Joy of Searching Through the Posted Photos and Seeing Your Child Standing on Water Skis
The Satisfaction of Stocking Your Fridge For Their Return!
Source: Oxygen [6]
The Impatience You Feel While Waiting For the Bus to Arrive
The Excitement You Feel For Reuniting When the Bus Arrives . . .
. . . only to have them run to your partner rather than you.
The Realization of Just How Much Laundry There Is to Do . . .
. . . and just how disgustingly dirty it is! (Tip: throw most of it away — those stains and that mildew will never come out!)
The Loathing You Feel Finding the Money to Put Down Next Year's Deposit
The Comfort in Knowing That You'll Be Doing It All Again Next Year
