Summer holidays slip away far too quickly. With only a few weeks left it seems like we have put on plenty of kilometres and seen many people and places, but there is still so much we want to do.
I dropped off my teenage son for a week at summer camp almost wishing he would have wanted to stay with us so we could do some more exploring. We spend most of our time together as a family during the holidays and I look forward to the times when we are not limited by schedules and school bells.
My son was invited to summer camp last year by two of his cousins and had such a great time he wanted to return this year. He found a happy, welcoming and fun place. It was a place where he was relaxed and accepted for who he is as a young adult.
I didn't have camp experiences when I was a teenager. I always had summer jobs and family trips across Canada to fill my time. My younger siblings made lifelong friends at summer camp and my baby sister probably holds the record for the most summers at one of the wilderness camps in the forest north of Prince Albert. By the time she finished going to the camp as both a camper and a member of the staff she had been there longer than many of the campers had been alive.
I sometimes wish I had made the friends and memories my siblings have but I'm grateful for the memories of family camping trips with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents and tours of western Canada. I know I'm lucky to be able to offer my children a variety of experiences and my attention throughout the summer.
My daughter isn't interested in going to camp, yet. She would rather stick close to home or tag along wherever my storytelling takes me. At 10 she still takes my hand when we walk across parking lots and I hold on tightly cherishing her at this age. I'm glad my teenager is finding other safe and comfortable places beyond our walls but I still want to hold him close as long as I am able.
Next summer my son will be too old for the summer camp he is currently attending and it will be his last summer holiday before Grade 12 and graduation. I selfishly hope he won't find a summer job so we can spend one more summer spending most of our time together building memories I know I will treasure forever and I hope he will too.
