Sleep away camp

One of Hope's close friends is involved in 4-H, and invited Hope to join her for the 4-H sleep away camp over the summer. I was surprised that Hope was interested, since she doesn't usually like to spend the night at friends houses, let alone be away from home for an entire week. But she was eager to try it, based on all the fun activities that her friend told her about. I was very nervous about the idea, especially since I wouldn't be able to talk to her on the phone and the camp is three hours away if she decided she hated it and wanted to leave. But she wanted to go, and it was good timing for her to have something going on while Grant was laid up recovering from his surgery. So we did it!

Hope was full of mixed emotions leading up to the camp. She thought it was pretty cool that we had to go buy her some camp gear, and she loved the idea of the camp's theme days, outdoor activities, and all the new things she'd get to try like archery, campfire cooking, etc. But she was pretty worried that she'd miss me "too much." I was worried about that too.

When we dropped her off at the staging grounds she was feeling pretty good. But as soon as the bus started to pull away from the waving parents, she tells me she started to cry. She was a little embarrassed by that, but she said the other girls around her were sweet and understanding and tried to distract her with silly games and talk about the week. It breaks my heart to think of her feeling that way, but ultimately I know she's got to feel confident and pretty strong for having made it through the week.

Once they got to camp, Hope said she was excited about finding her cabin and meeting the counselors. It sounds like they kept their days very full and they must have gone to bed exhausted every night. Hope said the first night was hard for her to fall asleep because she was missing me, but it got better each night after that. She sent me three letters while she was at camp - each one was only a couple of lines long. Fortunately they all arrived at the same time, because the first one was all about missing home and not being sure if she could do it. But the next two were about the fun she was having, and how she was enjoying herself. Thank God!

I was relieved to know that the teenage boy who lives next door to us was one of the counselors. Brandon is a sweet kid, and he promised he'd watch over her especially. I also found out that the mother of an acquaintance is the long-time camp nurse. When I explained Hope's fainting episode on the last day of school to this friend, she got me in touch with her mother so I could outline my concerns for Hope being in the heat all week. She was very encouraging and supportive and said she'd make sure to have Hope come see her every day just to check in. She even managed to send me a couple of pictures during the week, which were a real treat. After a day or two wondering how my girl was doing, she was really a sight for sore eyes!

When the bus brought them back home on the last day, we were all busting to get our Hope back! She teared up when she jumped off the bus and into my arms - she said she was both relieved and excited. Her voice was so hoarse from talking, shouting, and being rowdy all week. She had a million things to tell me about her week, her new friends, all that she learned, and her every thought and feeling (which I ate up). She had a bag full of filthy laundry, a bit of hard-won self-confidence, and a big smile both for having gone to camp and for coming back home.