Yesterday did not start like every other day...the teasing, the bickering, the snacking, the crying. It started with sweet snuggle time, prolonged hug time, caring for sister time, doing chores on-time time. All of which is wonderful, but made it a little harder to think about not having him around for 7 days. If only every morning of summer would be this good.
We were to drop off at camp around 2:00 for the opening ceremonies hoop-la. All of us were anxious, yet joyful and happy. I could tell Z was very excited about this week, yet he still had some anxiety regarding the time away from home. For the most part, his excitement was greater than the anxiety.
My biggest prayer yesterday was that the Lord would surprise us. And surprise us He did. The very first person we saw was a Kindergarten teacher that I taught with. Her job in the summer is to drive a bus for camp. It was so thrilling to see her and have her greet Z with a huge smile and lots of encouragement. What a blessing to me.
Every person that we encountered was genuinely happy to see the Z-man. They made over each camper with cheerful clapping and lots of hollering. The first thing he did was slide down a long fire pole into the arms of his counselors. Then they rushed him off for a snow cone. After that, it was time for us to introduce ourselves to his counselors, get Z unpacked, make his bed and leave.
GULP.
Walking down the path to his cabin, I prayed again for the Lord to surprise us. Again, He was faithful. We walked into his room and saw 3 familiar faces. There are 4 boys in his cabin that he knows from school. We thought he would only have 1 boy. Thank you, Jesus!
His counselors were the perfect blend of excitement, spunk, energy and, most importantly for Z, restraint. They handled him exactly the right way, not too much, not too little. Immediately, I felt comfortable with these young college men. One of them asked me if I had any questions regarding this week.
Me? Questions?? Nah, I'm good.
What!?! Of course I had questions! Except, for the life of me I couldn't think of any. The only thing I asked of him was NOT TO TAKE HIS EYES OFF MY CHILD. DO YOU HEAR ME? NOT EVEN FOR A SECOND!!! Please.
I have to give kudos to the training that these young people must endure. They must have a special class in mom-handling. He looked me straight in the eyes and went through his entire training process. He talked about everything from his CPR certification, to life jackets, to how much sunscreen they would use on Z. He actually said,
"Here at camp we are all about safety. Safety first, then Jesus." That boy just won me over!!
Time for goodbyes. This is the moment I have been dreading since we signed him up many months ago. I was fearful of leaving him in tears and having the counselors pull him away from us. But when you pray for the Lord to surprise you, HE WILL!! Our goodbyes were tear-free and joyful. We left knowing that Z was happy. He said he wanted to stay for 12 weeks instead of just 1. THAT IS HUGE FOR HIM!!! I am so proud of his bravery. He has really changed and grown this past year.
Except now he can stop growing, cause my heart can't take it!
14 comments:
Yay for Z! I can't wait to hear all about it.
I am crying. Tears and make up running down my face.
Do not take your eyes off my child. Do you hear me?
That did it for me.
What a wonderful blessing that everything went so great yesterday!!! I am so happy for Z, and for you!!! I cried too...that young man sounds wonderful. Can we get his number for Lane? :)
Gulp... this will be me in 2 weeks. This will be Keilani's 2nd year at camp and she is so excited. I am a little more prepared at "letting go" this year, I think... but it is not easy. I love your last line. So true.
soooo glad the drop off went so well. great post janelle! you are a sweet mommy!
Where are the pictures?
Love the title. I'm glad it went well. I was thinkin' about you. After reading all of these posts about camp, I'm wishing I had signed Richie up!
Oh, how fun for him! I hope he has a fabulous time & that you're doing ok without him. It's the mommy inside all of us that can understand what you're going through.
I'm glad it went well. I took my girl to camp last year for the first time. She loved it. It was strange having her away from home, but it was good for both of us.
Can't wait to read about it!
Oh....they ARE growing up so fast, huh? I'm thinking now of your trip out to CO when Zeb and Milana were babies. Do you remember that? By the flower? Gosh. What sweet memories. What sweet memories he is making now too! We ALL wrote him letters. He may get them and say, Who the heck is this from? But we wrote them with joy.
Love ya!
"Safety first, then Jesus."
THAT made me laugh out loud!!!! What a fun sounding counselor!
So glad the drop-off went so well. I thought of you yesterday, and wondered how you were doing. I hope you see LOTS and LOTS of pictures of him grinning and having fun online!!!
Oh girl you make me laugh. I am so happy drop off was an awesome experience. "Safety first, then Jesus" what a great Kamp motto!
dude, your little z-man is in THE BEST HANDS. i am so pumped for him. remember this comment in about four years when i am needing the same pep talk.
seriously, janelle, you are the best mom. giving your kids roots and then wings.
here here!
I LOVED CAMP!!! I can only imagine being on the mom end of things, but seriously, some of my best memories are from summer camp. It is a week full of fun and learning about Jesus EVERY DAY! Can't wait to hear about all the fun he has!
...but one little tear or two missing his mommy might be okay. :o)
I loved camp too, and I was just saying how I am excited that I'll be able to take Ruthie to camp one day... Never thought about actually driving away leaving her there... I'm glad I have a few years to experience that!! I'll be praying for you both this week. I'm glad that Jesus surprised you... His surprises are the best!
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