Off To Camp

We stayed up on Sunday night packing Nathan's bags, making sure he had everything he needed as he goes to overnight camp for the next two nights.

This is his second year going to camp but this year, it felt a little different as camp drew near. Nathan didn't have the same level of energy and excitement as he did last year; there was almost a sense of trepidation. 

I couldn't figure out why he felt this way, but perhaps it's because last year, he was one of the youngest kids and all the older children were much more confident, and he fed off that energy. This year, many of his closer friends going to camp are younger and some of them have never spent the night apart from their parents so he might be feeling their anxiety and getting nervous because of that. 

Regardless of what caused him to feel this way, I reassured him that he would be okay. We would miss him at home but we wanted him to enjoy himself and we'd look forward to him coming back to tell us all about camp. 

This morning, Nathan got ready bright and early. Since he didn't have to pack his lunch and school bag today, I suggested he spend a bit of extra time with his brother before leaving for camp. They played as I got ready. 

He was still a little anxious this morning, saying we should have gotten to school earlier so we wouldn't miss the bus, even though the bus had just pulled into the parking lot as we were turning in. He quickly got out of the car, said bye to Caleb, grabbed his bags and headed towards the school with Caleb and I close behind. 

By the time his class paraded back out to the bus, Nathan was looking more confident and excited about camp.

Caleb got one last hug from his big brother before Nathan boarded the bus. Even as they waited, Nathan and his buddy were waving excitedly and making faces at me through the window. He was back to his usual cheery self.