How do you handle the quiet and time to yourself when your kids are away at camp or not at home for a few days? Karma Bryan-Ingle shares her experience in dealing with preparing for her child’s time at camp and dealing with the separation anxiety that comes from having seven days without kids.
Camp Can-Aqua - Photograph by Stan Behal
Preparing for Camp
I can’t believe it! I just realized that my sweet baby boy is going to leave for camp in just over three weeks now! It’s got me thinking that I need to get going on prepping a care package to send up to the camp soon, as well as a couple of little letters! Since Evan is only going for one week, I figure I’d better have a bunch of stuff arrive before he gets there so I don’t run the risk of it not getting to him in time.
Just recently, Julie Cole posted an excellent blog about tips for packing care packages. I’m so thankful to have resources like this, especially since my idea of a care package is a stuffed animal and a bag of Skittles! But since Evan will have access to the tuck shop every other day, he doesn’t really need a bag of Skittles and he does have upwards of 100 stuffed animals so he really doesn’t need a new one of those either! So thanks Julie for giving me some new, fabulous ideas.
Dealing with Separation Anxiety and Kid Free Days
I’m also trying to prepare myself for the separation anxiety I anticipate I will feel while Evan is gone. I know I’ve written about this already, but just remember he’s an only child so when he’s not in the house, the house feels pretty empty. Usually if he’s gone for a multiple night sleepover, on night one it kind of feels like the pre-kiddo days. But then by night two, I get antsy. The house is too quiet, his bedroom is too empty and I find myself wondering what the heck I should be doing. It’s kind of a discomforting feeling!
So now, I’ve signed myself up for seven kid free days! What am I going to do? Well, I’ll probably keep myself pretty busy at work , I’ll eat when and wherever I want to and I’ll probably email Evan every day. Lucky for me, Camp Kandalore has an email system set up for parents suffering from separation anxiety! I will be able to email him as much as I want to and each morning the camp will print out the emails and give them to Evan.
I guess I will need to figure out how often I should write to him while he’s gone. For my own sanity, I would want to write every day, but in order to give Evan the space he needs to be independent perhaps that’s not the right thing to do. The last thing I want to do is create homesickness where it may not exist!! I’d welcome any advice on this topic I can get! How often do you write to your kids when they’re away?
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Do you feel separation anxiety like Karma when you send your kids to camp? How do you deal on the days when your kids aren’t at home? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
Related:
The Keys Preparation for Summer Camp
Packing for Camp: Additional Useful Items to Pack
