With visiting day in the rear view mirror, there are only a few more weeks until sleepaway camp is over and your campers will be returning. Hopefully, you have all had a good summer and you and your significant other have enjoyed the adult time you so richly deserve. In case this is your first time with a returning camper, or even if it isn’t, here are four ways you will know your child has returned from a summer at camp.
1- He or she is cold. Just like your relatives who spend their winters in Florida, your child’s blood will have thinned. Do not be surprised if you see him or her donning sweatshirts and extra layers, as well as requesting that you make the house warmer. They may sleep under layers of blankets and open their windows to let the steamy summer air they’ve grown accustomed to into their rooms. Luckily, unlike those Florida snowbirds, they will acclimate in a few days and you will be able to turn your air-conditioner back to a level where there is a palpable temperature difference between outside and inside.
2- They will be returning with a slight cough. The first time I heard the “bunk cough”, I was somewhat alarmed and thought my child had contracted a dread disease. Three kids and seventeen summers at camp later, I have grown used to the cough and realize it’s pretty normal – mostly the product of dusty bunks and no sleep for the last two or three nights of camp. Of course, if it doesn’t clear up in a few days or is accompanied by other symptoms you may want to consult their pediatrician – my youngest came home with strep after his first two summers at camp.
3- You will be faced with laundry mountain. All the loads of laundry you did not have to do over the summer will be catching up to you with a vengeance. The camp trunks that a few months ago you so lovingly and carefully packed so that everything was organized and ready to pop right into your child’s camp closet or cubbies will be returned to you in a filthy, jumbled, zipper-straining heap. Even the clothes they did not wear will have to be washed. We had to throw out all my oldest son’s socks the first summer he was away, as even scrubbing by hand with a brush and bleach in the slop sink couldn’t save white socks from his bunk’s 75-year old floors and an unreported decision to mimic Shoeless Joe Jackson for three weeks. Do not be alarmed if you see spiders and other crawly things escaping from laundry. One of my creative friends deals with laundry mountain – and the vermin risk – by sorting the piles on a tarp in her garage and working her way through the loads in a methodical manner. (When all three of her kids were away, it would take a week after their return before she was able to return her cars to the garage.) Other people I know bring the heaps of laundry to the laundromat to get it done faster. Whatever your system, know that you will get through it by the time Labor Day arrives. You may find items of clothing with other campers’ names on them; it will be up to you to decide what to do with them.
4- You will have to go back to the grocery store. After a summer of eating out or grilling simple meals, you may have forgotten what it’s like to shop and cook for an entire family. Get ready to start loading up your carts once again to feed those growing children. Snacks, milk, fruit, bread, cereal, cold cuts, etc. will all need to be purchased in large quantities again. A bright side is you will be able to catch up with all your friends at the grocery store who will be there to restock their fridges as well.
Despite the fact that your house will be messy again and your work load has just increased exponentially, it’s a wonderful thing to have your chicks back home. Hopefully, you will have enjoyed your taste of the empty nest while it lasted and are ready to face the school year rested and restored. And just think, it’s only ten months until next summer is here!
You can read more of Marlene’s work on her site: Thoughts From Aisle Four