Campin' Carter

Anyone whose daily routine includes tucking a special someone into bed and getting a hug and kiss goodnight -- every night -- knows the reason for my loneliness this week.

Anyone who has ever gone to bed in an old sleeping bag, smelling of bug spray, campfire smoke and sweat -- but with a smile on their face -- knows my feelings are pretty selfish. Camp is awesome and I am so glad Carter is experiencing it!

Still, it's pretty quiet around here.

Going into this week, he was more nervous than I expected. That surprised me. I mean there's a dozen kids from our confirmation class going with, including his best buddy Clayton, so it's not like he's not going to know anyone. Still, he had some concerns about the "unknown" at Imago Dei Village.

I did my best to show him information online and share my own experiences as a young camper and later as a counselor and lifeguard at Luther Point. I didn't want to minimize his concerns but I couldn't help thinking: There's no way you won't have fun! Camp is awesome!

Hopefully I am right. I won't know until I pick him up on Friday.

That's been the hard part for me. Sure, he's only 90 minutes away in Clintonville. And sure, he's been on week-long vacations away from home before. But he's always been able to call every night to say hi and tell us about his day. But a week at camp means roughing it. And for teens these days that means no cell phones. And therefore, no communication with home unless they, gasp, actually write a letter!

For my part -- and this is purely therapeutic for me -- I made sure he got mail every day. I sent a card on Saturday to arrive Monday, one on Monday to arrive Tuesday, etc. Either he feels good about hearing what's happening on the home front .... or he's getting ribbed about being a momma's boy.

I don't care. He IS my boy. But I do hope he is, as they say, a happy camper.

We'll find out in 39 hours. Not that I'm counting.