Hi, and thanks for stopping by! I can’t believe the summer is nearly over and it’s almost time to go back to school. Boo hoo! Having just gotten back from an amazing time at sleepaway camp, I can’t bear to think about school. I was so bummed to say goodbye to all my camp friends and “return to real life,” as my parents say. What a summer it was. Of course, I’m happy to sleep in my own not-so-squeaky bed, enjoy my mom’s home cooking, and take long, hot showers, but I miss my camp friends. Like really miss them.
My friends and I had so many fantastic memories this past summer, and it’s hard to go from nonstop fun to… quiet. Which brings me to the life lesson I’m learning as I type: it takes time to readjust when you transition from a world of independence like sleepaway camp and go back home to life with your family. While you can still hold on to your memories and relationships, keep in mind that the expectations and responsibilities at home are probably different from the ones you had while you were away. When the camp bubble bursts, be sure to have your reality checked so you can adapt back to life at home.
Here’s my story…
Playing by the rules
I’ll be honest, as much as I love my parents, I didn’t want to leave camp this year. I basically got to do whatever I wanted (within reason), whenever I wanted, while I was at camp. If my friends and I wanted to go swimming, we just grabbed our towels and went. Camp had rules, but it was also filled with fun. Since coming home, I felt like my parents have been watching my every move. I can’t go anywhere without telling them. It’s not like I would go that far—well, I guess technically I could if I rode my bike. But I’m not going to!
I also got into some trouble for not washing my dishes. At camp, when we cleared the table, we just stacked up the dishes by the kitchen’s window. I got used to the not-washing-dishes part; I guess you could say I had my reality checked once I got home. When my mom saw the pile of dishes that I’d left in the sink, she reminded me that every place has its own systems:
“In our house, everyone does their own dishes. I enjoy being on vacation, too, but now we’re back in the real world with responsibilities. So, please clean up after yourself.”
I know there’s the saying that rules are meant to be broken. I don’t think I want to test my mom on the dish-cleaning one. Even though it was really nice not to do dishes for seven weeks.
Food for thought
Another area where my parents and I butted heads was about food. Although Camp Hillside’s food wasn’t the most delicious, it also wasn’t the most nutritious. Not like the well-balanced meals I have at home. While I was at camp, I had some fruits and vegetables, but I definitely enjoyed cinnamon rolls, some slightly unbalanced meals, and other not-so-healthy foods that I don’t normally have here in Great Falls.
Although we had hamburgers for dinner my first night home (yum!), I was annoyed that we had roasted potatoes instead of French fries as a side dish. Don’t get me wrong, my mom’s potatoes are delicious. But I kind of got used to having French fries with a big dollop of ketchup at camp. I had my reality checked when I complained about the menu.
This time, my dad jumped in: “Noodle, you know that different foods are served at home than at camp. We’re not feeding hundreds of kids at a time—here, it’s just the four of us; though technically five, if you count whatever Chompers gets when something falls on the floor. It’s our responsibility to provide you with healthy food options, and it’s your responsibility to eat them…or not.” My mom piped up next (perhaps she wasn’t thrilled with my dad’s response):
“…Though if you want to help me make the foods you liked at camp, Noodle, maybe we can adapt them to make them a little bit healthier for you? You know I love a good cooking challenge—remember the no-dye red velvet cupcakes I made with beet powder on Valentine’s Day?” Yum. I did remember the cupcakes. And they were delicious, despite the beet powder making the red velvet more of a brownish-red velvet. Oh well. The cupcakes still tasted delicious.
I got the message. Camp eating habits were out, healthier food choices at home were back in.
Bored to tears
After being surrounded by friends all day, coming home from camp was kind of…boring. Sure, I had my old friends from Great Falls, but it took effort to make plans. Coming home to so much quiet really got my reality checked. Especially when you compare it to having all my friends right there at sleepaway camp. I miss waking up and having my best friend in the same room as me. I miss wandering around until I found someone I wanted to hang out with. I miss being busy with activities, whether someone else planned them or not.
Now, if I want to see my friends, especially those who don’t live near my house, I have to ask my parents for a ride. It’s annoying to have to work around their schedules. It’s too bad all my Great Falls friends don’t live on the same block as I do. Now that would be cool.
My mom says that if I go away to college, it’ll feel like sleepaway camp, only with a lot more schoolwork thrown in:
“When I came home after my first semester away at college, I got really annoyed at my parents. No one told me to make my bed, pick up my laundry, or put my things away when I was at school. It was hard for me to remember that while I had left home, they didn’t. Their household didn’t change, but I did. I’m guessing that’s sort of like how you might be feeling now, Noodle.” I nodded in agreement.
I guess I’m not the first person in history to have their reality checked.
Although I’ll have camp next summer to look forward to, it sounds like I’ll also have to add going away to college as something to be excited about. Though not the whole “lots-of-schoolwork” part.
Back and better than before
One thing that we all agreed on was that I went away to camp and came back a different, better person. That was the best thing about having my reality checked. I met so many new people, experienced a ton of things, and did it all without relying on my parents. I learned how to get along with people I didn’t necessarily love (though there were many whom I did love), and I was able to do things by myself, for myself.
I’m sure I’ll still need my parents for a lot of things until I’m older, but I feel like every time I go away to camp, I come home needing them a little less. According to my big sister Jill, that’s called “maturity.”
Whatever it’s called, I know that leaving the important people in my life was hard the first time I went away to camp. And this year, I was able to go seven whole weeks without my parents—except if you count Visiting Day. (In that case, I did need my parents to take me for a haircut.)
While I came home with a lot of laundry and most of the belongings I’d brought with me to camp, I also brought home memories, experiences, and friendships. The next ten months at home are going to be long. But I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait for those two amazing months of summer. Especially if I bring enough bug spray next time.
Until next time, be your best you.
Do you have any stories about learning an important lesson from an experience? Please share them with me in the comments section!
