Sunday, June 15, 2008

At some point

they go from being campers to counselors. From kid to teen. From adoring the mother who bore him to the teen whose every word drips impatience with the mother he's bored with.

Joseph returned from his first camp counselor experience today. The first thing he said was not, "Hello Mom!" but "You're late! I've been waiting for ever!" And I was, but it wasn't my fault. The staff member I'd spoken with when I dropped him off had assured me that 2:00pm was fine. What she failed to communicate was that it was two hours after everyone else was gone. I should have known. This woman used to be my supevisor, but we won't go there. Suffice it to say, my stomach still gets knots when I have to face her or the other staff members. I do so want that to go away.

My questions about how things had gone were met with a why are you asking? attitude. And, of course he'd had a good time. And, yes, he had put on plenty of sunblock so he had no idea why he had a sun burn. And, yes, he made friends, but it wasn't that big a deal and could he just sleep in the car and talk later.

He came home, disappeared into his room with the phone to call his girlfriend, and left me all but holding his duffle bag outside his bedroom door.

He did say after dinner that lots of little kids wanted to know if he'd be coming back next year. So I guess I can infer that our mission was accomplished.

Yet a third has entered adolescense.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

it's a grown up version of the same, isn't it? How funny.

Mary O. Paddock said...

They do eventually grow up and become too cool for us.