Dissed for Summer Camp

This post orignally appeared on DC Metro Moms on March 3, 2010

Dissed for Summer Camp

Why do I feel like a loser if my four-year-old has no one to go to summer camp with?

Last year I’d signed him up for just one week at a French camp, your standard 9:30-12:30 Monday-Friday day camp. Then I learned about an even cheaper option of a county-run Tot Camp. There was still space in one of the locations, soan two of my friends and I signed our kids late in the game. All three three-year-olds loved it, so much so that the other two added a second week and I ended up lying about it to my son so he wouldn’t feel bad that he was in French camp with no one he knew.

He liked that one, too, but has been talking about going back to “regular” camp with his buddies for months. (It doesn’t help that we drive past the place on his way to preschool). Both of my friends raved about the experience for the low cost, so I figured it was a done deal that we’d all go again this summer, at least for a week or two.  Yes, I realize that this is two months away, but now that I’m expecting, I’m trying to figure out how to balance my son’s need for structured time with my need for solo time and work time (adding in the factor that I will be big and fat in July and nursing a newborn in August).

Camp registration opens next week. I put out feelers to the other two mamas to coordinate weeks and make sure we got the prime location this time around.

Lo and behold, neither is biting. One is back at work and paying for day care all summer. The other has had her daughter in full-time, 5-day preschool all year and wants to take the summer off. And neither of them told me this! Don’t they care about my feelings and my son’s feelings? Don’t they want to spend time with us, or gush about how bad they feel that they can’t!

I don’t know how I will break the news to my little boy. There’s going to be a lot changing in his life already. I decided to email all the moms of his current preschool friends. So far, no one is biting on camp, which makes me feel like some unloving, push-my-kid-away mom.

But, I have gotten nice notes of congratulations (they must not have run into my already-huge 17-week belly) and offers to bring my son over for a playdate or a swim in their pool. I’d kind of rather pay a program for consistent childcare than get my act together to take someone up on a generous offer I’m not likely to repay. But I do appreciate the offers!

So, fine, my good friends, diss me for the summer to have your important career time or your fun-loving SAHM experience. I’ll just pawn my kid off on his other friends’ moms.

Original to DC Metro Moms Blog.