Camp Kalsman

Jordan is at sleepaway camp for the first time -- very exciting! Camp Kalsman is about an hour north of Seattle and the dropoff today was fantastic. When we pulled into the parking lot who should be directing traffic but our beloved Robert, the boys' babysitter for about a year when they were three and six! He recognized us right away and was thrilled to learn that Jordan would be in his cabin. Total score. We saw bunches of people we knew, but even the strangers felt like friends we hadn't met yet because everyone was just so incredibly happy and attentive.

Checking in 200 kids to sleepaway camp is complicated but Camp Kalsman really has it down. First, in the parking lot, counselors quickly tag the kids' bags and throw them in a big truck for delivery to their cabins. Next you head over to a team of counselors who sing a silly song and ask a bunch of questions about whether you have been sick recently. Then you are admitted to the central building, where you work your way around a series of tables each with its own purpose: sign the anti-bullying pledge, drop off care packages, iron out any medication arrangements, get checked for lice, get your picture taken, choose your electives. It was all very well-run and friendly. Here is the lice check -- note the counselor enthusiasm.

We dropped Adam off first. Kalsman is only about five years old so the facilities are quite nice. Adam settled right in.

His cabin has a helpful checklist on the door.

Jordan is not the slightest bit nervous about camp, as far as we know. He loves new experiences, he is socially extremely adaptable, his best friends Ian and Moses are both there, and he makes new friends easily. As soon as we got to his cabin he busted out his new Magic: The Gathering cards and got down to business. Here he is with Moses and Ben, a kid he knew already, I don't know from where. He knows people everywhere he goes.

He was politely willing to work with me on making his bed. Then he was clearly done with me, not in a rude way, just a fact. He waved goodbye pleasantly and socked in with his friends. That's how it's supposed to be, right?

Here is the view out his back door. The camp also has a lake for boating and a pool for swimming; I haven't seen those.

After the dropoff, a bunch of parents went out to lunch and laughed about our irrational fears about our children. Most of the other parents I was with tend to worry that their kid won't get something they need socially - that they won't participate in enough things, or won't get the alone time they need, or won't make new friends, or whatever. I was grateful that they shared their worries so that I could enjoy not having them. I worry more about Jordan losing things, or not having a warm enough jacket, or pretending he put on sunscreen when he didn't and getting burned to a crisp, or possibly wandering overconfidently off into the woods with a few friends and breaking an ankle or getting eaten by a bear. But Jordan is actually very together about not losing the important things (like his glasses), and the other things are just part of the glory of being at camp. Right? Right. He is going to have a great week.