Packing Your Child For Summer Camp

Isaac is headed off to the 5th grade in the Fall and with that comes a right of passage in this family: 

Summer Camp

 We take him on Sunday.  Eeeek

He will be gone for 6 nights. He is crazy excited.

I, however, am feeling a little nervous about the whole thing.

 I never attended Summer Camp.

The whole idea of it terrified me.

Away from my mom, my bed, my comfort foods...oh my!

 Plus, I am a city girl.

Bugs, lake swimming, camp fire smoke in my lungs?

No, thank you.

But this child is ready to go. He is our most outgoing and is always up for new adventures. He will have the time of his life.

My biggest worry for him is not if he will miss me... it is if he will change his underwear and shower everyday. 

Hashtag boymom, right?

So...to alleviate my worries I decided to get real organized about how I packed my son for a week away.

Will my meticulous packing ensure that he won't have stinky armpits and will brush his teeth every night? 

No. I'm no fool.

But atleast I can say his Mama sent him off prepared.

Just in case you happen to be sending your little darling off to summer camp for the first time, I thought I would share my packing tips with you...Enjoy!

The first thing I did was ordered labels online. 

There are lots of companies out there, just look for Camp Packs.

They came with varying sizes plus tiny clothing labels and shoe labels. 

I labeled everything.

Not because I necessarily need all of it to come home, but because boys are messy and leave stuff everywhere. I don't want a cabin mate to think his toothbrush is his own, or for Isaac to fuss over which pair out of the 9 khaki shorts laying all over the cabin floor are his.

So just label it ALL.

Next, I bought two sizes of slide bags: Gallon and Jumbo.

This is for everything to go into.

I marked the Jumbo bags Monday through Saturday.

In them went a shirt, shorts, underwear, and socks.

This way, he can pull out his complete outfit without digging around looking to see where his underwear went and saying,

"Awww..to heck with it.
 I will just not change my underwear for the
 3rd day in a row, no biggie."

(Get where I am going with this, peeps?)

The idea is that he will put his dirty clothes back into the bags and zip them up. 

Of course I know this will not happen.

So he will also have a big mesh dirty clothes bag 

to just toss under his bed.

Also, his Theme Night oufits needed a way to stay organized.

Nobody needs a 10 year old boy with ADHD panicking 15 minutes before the Rodeo because his western bandana is missing.

And then there are the Pajamas. Oh...the endless bags of PJ's.

YES, my kids sleep in clean pajamas every night.

Don't judge me.

Laundry is a real you-know-what around here.

 So in the event that the moon is full and Isaac does indeed want to use some personal hygiene....here is his kit.

A kit seemed a little more manly than a caddy. 

And let's be honest here, the only time these items will actually be in their box will be on the ride to and from camp. ;)

I went with a blue theme and labeled all of it.

Again...

"Hey fellas...whose flashlight is this? 

Is it blue with Isaac's name plastered to the side?

Yep.

Well there ya go."

Mommy Wins.

Two bath towels and a one beach towel.

Some more things he will need.

Water bottle and light backpack, a fun Bible and novels to read at night, and his full scripture Bible with journal and pens for daily cabin devotionals.

All of this has to fit into something, right?

Those really cool camp trunks with the locks are what I would have preferred but they are like $40-$100 bucks. 
Can't do it.

How about a big Rubbermaid container for $11? 

OK.

I like this one with the clasp lid. 

Super easy for a kid to open and close.



Once you flatten all the air out of the bags, 

everything fits nice and snug. I layered based on what he will need early in the week vs. late in the week, 

so he doesn't have to be tempted to 

pull everything out at once.

By the second day, I expect all of his stuff to be scattered under his bed or shoved into his pillow...so to make leaving on Saturday easy peasy...I typed out a list of all the things he needs to be sure to put back into the tub. 

Did I mention he has ADHD?

Without lists, he gets very little accomplished. 

And that is if he doesn't lose his lists first.

But this list has been taped to the inside of his tub lid.

No excuses, my boy. 
You better bring your stuff home!!!

Bedding is allowed to be transported separate from the one allowed luggage piece. I rolled up his pillow into a twin sized blanket and tied it with twine. Then his sheet set will be transported in its own carrying bag. He would be too hot in a sleeping bag, so that is why we are going this route.

It ALL fit. Yay me!!! And on top, his Star Wars Theme Night costume mask.
How cute.

There ya have it. Perfectly organized (for about 5 minutes)
and ready to go.

Have fun at summer camp, Isaac.
We will miss you here!!!

We Did It

Well folks, school is out for the summer and our oldest child has graduated from highschool...

Even saying that feels so strange. 

How at 36 years old, am I old enough to have a child going into college?!!

But, it is true.

Family came in town and we had a big crowd to celebrate our boy:

I had to create a memory board for him to display with the 33 other seniors boards. It was a lot of work for my Mom and I. 

But it turned out really nice:

The next day we had a delicious brunch at our house for our closest friends and family.

Then Billy and I exhaled.

It occured to us that for 3 years since the summer Keishun came home at the age of 15, we have held our breath. 

We held our breath through every beautiful bonding moment, every bad grade, every confrontation, every trip to the school for disciplinary action, every football and basketball game, every tear, every belly laugh, every time we checked his text log...or made phone calls to check his story on events. We held our breath through every holiday and vacation not knowing what mood he would be in. We held our breath when he got a new job, when he made a new friend, when he went to a school function, when he came home to tell us all about it. 

We held our breath when he raged.

We held our breath when he grieved.

We held our breath for 2 years and 11 months. 

Because at any time, for any reason...the ball could drop.

And it did.

A lot.

It was devastating.

The smiling polite boy that the world sees, is the not the person we have lived with. At all.

If you are living in a family like that, you know EXACTLY what I am talking about. 

If you do not, I will not enlighten you. 

Because, through it all we have learned many, many things.

One very important one is that people just do not understand.

Teachers, friends, family, coaches.

Sometimes they don't even believe us.

So...we don't share the gritty details with everyone.

And out of privacy for my kids stories, the older they get...the less I will share in a public format like this. They are no longer cute little babies who do funny things. These are their lives. 

And I take that very seriously.

What I will share, are some highlight photos of his senior year, because he had a blast. 

I won't share the private pain I had to endure over events that transpired before and after these pictures were taken. 

If you too are parenting in a difficult season...you know the stories that the photos don't tell. 

Today, however, I will choose JOY.

Keishun moves away to college next month.

We did it. We survived the teen years.

We parented him in a very difficult place in his life and we have come out the other end. He has a highschool diploma. We are all moving forward in the right direction, despite the many speed bumps we have endured and will continue to endure.

He had a Senior Year that kids dream of having. 

He loved every minute of it. I am so happy for him.

Prom:

 Athletic Banquet:

He is TALL now, Y'all...

And finally, some of Keishun's senior portraits:

We did it.

Happy highschool graduation to my Son.

Wherever you go...whatever you become...

we will love you and pray God's very best over your life.