Summer camp…is in the cards!

I miss curling up on my sofa with my throw, close to my fireplace, chowing down on Cape Cod potato chips, and writing a blog. Actually…what I miss are baggy sweaters, my sweat pants, and sunsets at seven. I don’t do hot.

Holy Moley…Summer is dragging on forever…especially the hours between my first cup of coffee and a glass of wine.

It would seem this way because our summer started early May on the long and winding 64 mile stretch to Hana, with Gary, Gail, and of course our one and only crotchety ol’ commander and chief, David Chester! He was (once again) our designated driver and chauffeured us full circle around the outskirts of Maui. Breathtakingly beautiful. An extraordinary view to behold around every hairpin curve. No wifi, no air conditioning, and no tv…Seriously, this was a trip of a lifetime and to David…it lasted a lifetime!

I spent last month driving up and down I-75 listening to Dax Shepard, Gwyneth Paltrow, or any other podcast I could get “life lessons” from. Just as happy as a bad-ass truck driver eating roller food at a TA Express stop. It’s what I do in June. My “me” time. It’s how I get my “girl time” and family time. It’s hot as “all get out” out there so I appreciate any excuse to be behind the wheel with Dax…the charming “Armchair Expert” talking to me with the a/c blasting me. And who doesn’t love famous people problems!

Now here we are! FINALLY July! Whew! Everyone is slowing down the pace a little more. Swimming and canoeing are coming upon us. We (ie…sharing the effort) will be dropping off Annie Kate and Laney (ages 6 and almost 6) for day camp while Whit finally gets to spend the night at camp for a whole week for the first time. (age 8) Now we are talking…it’s summertime Mamma Mia! This means putting away Super Mario Brothers and Mario Kart. We will have to stop staring into Mom’s phone watching kids playing with slime. We will be jumping into cold lakes instead of lukewarm swimming pools. Playing card games in the rain. You absolutely do not have to shower if you don’t want to and don’t you dare brush your hair. Food has never tasted better. The veggies are fresher, the watermelon is juicier and the deserts are just sweeter. (and oh…all that candy you snuck in your footlocker tucked under the underwear that you never ever wear!)

The coolest thing about camp, besides the counselors, is meeting new friends. For sure, that’s the coolest part. Camp is a place where you learn that everyone is different, yet you are all still the same. A place where you share secrets. Sing songs and tell scary ghost stories. Where bulky old bunk beds feel like heaven at the end of a long hot summer day. A safe place to close your eyes in the dark and listen to crickets and tree frogs put you to sleep.

No wifi, no a/c, and no tv! Better than Hawaii and more fun than famous people problems.

A place… where time flies by!

True story: (I have told before…so what?)
I was at the Atlanta airport several years ago (back in the day when it was my “office”) where I saw a beautiful, (and I might add…very white) family of five waiting to board a plane to Colorado. Ski season, of course. Every single member of this unengaged family was holding in their hands a different type of device. Phone, computer, Ipad, laptop…you’ve got the picture… Needless to say, no one was talking or looking at each other.  Not a word. As I’m strolling through the concourse and mentally judging these picture perfect people I see another beautiful lady. She’s a Grandmother, sitting directly across from and smiling with love in her heart at a precious eight(ish) year old little boy. (her Grandson…I assume) He was gripping a handful of playing cards that he could barely wrap his pudgy little fingers around. He too was grinning from ear to ear staring into his Grandma’s eyes and then back into his hand of cards he had been dealt.

HE is going to be a winner, I thought.

I wish he was in Whit’s cabin!