Our First Camp Drop-Off (as parents)

Today we did it, we dropped off Annabeth at summer camp, alone, by herself, no mother daughter, just Annabeth.

Whew.

First tears of the day? Owen. 7:15 AM "I will miss you Gaga!"
Second tears of the day? AB 8:05 "I am going to miss you all too much to go"
The rest of the tears of the day. All of us. All day.

I am scared - she's never been alone over night more than one night and only ever to Mark's parents house or at house for the couple of nights that we went to the hospital to have Owen.
The last two summers she and I had SO much fun at Mother/Daughter Weekend that I was sure she'd want to do one more year of it. Nope. "I am ready to go alone Mama"

Depsite our fears, our nerves, we dropped her off with hugs, smiles, and encouragement because:

Camp is where...

- We grew up.
- Our home away from home.
- Where we fell in love with Jesus.
- Where I was sure heaven is real.
- Where I fell back in love with myself after a long year of not even liking myself.
- Where we belonged when we didn't feel like we belonged anywhere else.
- Where we served as JCs
- Where we served on staff
- Where we met our best friends
- Where we met each other.
- Where the story of us began
- Where we got engaged
- Where we worked after college
- Where I worked even after we were married.
- Where I couldn't wait to go with the kids after Kindergarten
- Where we couldn't wait to let our kids grow up

Camp is where...

- They will grow up
- Hopefully they will call home
- They will learn so much about Jesus and we pray fall in love with Him
- They will learn their own things about faith, life, themselves
- Camp is where they will push their limits (Annabeth did the zipline alone at just 5 years old!)
- They will meet their own friends

What the Lord did at camp, for both Mark and myself, added SO much in each of our lives and in our story together. We cannot wait to see what He has planned for her time there this week and for all the time our children will spend there in the future.

We signed her in, talked to old friends who are on staff, and got her to her cabin. Within 10 minutes she was ready for us to leave and to run to the tire playground with a new friend. I cannot wait to hear about her adventures when we pick her up!

Proud to be a Shawnee Sister

Already sporting her brand-new camp shirt!

Happy Adventures Nanners!