GRATEFUL WEDNESDAYS – Better now than later…..

Last week my son went off to camp, it was such a difficult week for me as I was missing him terribly, so much so, that by the time he was half way through camp, I remember thinking to myself, “who am I kidding, I cannot do this.”

By this time, his father got a chance to speak to him, thanks to the camp nurse. Of course I was very happy for that, but when my husband told me that he began crying that he wanted to come home, I felt so guilty that we had made him do something he was not ready for. I soldiered on, however, thinking that at least he is halfway through camp so he should be home before we knew it.

I remember telling someone on Sunday last, that I was missing my son terribly. She said to me in a matter of fact kind of way  “this is good for you and your son, you had better do this now than later when he is getting married and moving out, because then it will be more difficult.” She did speak to my core and I was very grateful and indeed comforted.

In our son’s own words, when asked if he enjoyed camp, “I did enjoy camp, like the first day, but after that my friend (His buddy that went only because he was going) and I were missing home. I told him we are sorry he had to go though that but it is normal and all a part of life. We did get a call from someone we knew well, who was part of the camp’s administration, who confirmed that there were times when she saw him looking sad and so she made it her duty to hug him and comfort him those times, we are so appreciative of this.

As it relates to bathing, he said an adult soap his rag for him and he bathed himself. We asked him about brushing his teeth, he said, “well, I could not find my toothbrush.” I was horrified, what do you mean, I packed it with the toothpaste, soap etc., you mean for the whole week, you did not brush your teeth? He said, well, I used my finger. Kudos to him for thinking to do this, and I immediately turned to my husband and said, well, he will have to get a thorough bath and his mouth a thorough brushing, before anything else.

He came back looking a bit like he had lost some weight, I almost cried. “What have they done to my boy?” I screamed inside. He told us how hungry he was and asked for mash potatoes and a grilled cheese sandwich. He had it all and asked again for a snack.

He did not come back empty handed though, he won a Bible competition and won some races on sports day. That’s our son, the achiever, we are so proud of him and we are very happy and indeed grateful that we were able to give him the chance, as hard as it was, to have this experience.