It’s 11:59 p.m. and summer camp registration opens at midnight. I’ve got multiple tabs open on my laptop, the camp codes are written down on the notepad next to me and I’m staring at the clock, ready to see it change to 12:00.
It’s go time.
My shaky hand moves the mouse as quickly as I can to “add to cart” as many summer camps as possible.
Quick! Get to the checkout before someone else grabs these spots! Did I pick the right dates? There’s no time to check.
It’s wild how my heart is racing just trying to sign my boys up for summer camp.
It’s only 12:01 a.m. and three out of the four camps I’m trying to get into are already full. What. Just. Happened.
Ugh, okay. Time to find another camp to try to get into. (Repeat this cycle multiple times before filling up the summer calendar.)
How Summers Used to Be . . .
Up until two years ago, I never knew what working moms are up against in the summer. I used to spend my summer breaks with my two little boys playing at the splash pad, running around Charles Towne Landing, and beating the heat at the Charleston Children’s Museum.
Those were some of the best times of my life. It was hard being the sole entertainer of two little boys, but I had the time to do it. It was sweaty, sandy, and chaotic; looking back, I didn’t realize at the time how much I loved it.
The Stress of Summer Camp Sign-Up . . .
Now my boys are in elementary school and I’m working full time. I absolutely love working again, but the logistics of our summers are so much more complicated. Now, each week is different. Which camp are they going to this week? Is it nine to noon or (fingers crossed) an all-day camp? Am I going to two different camps or (fingers crossed) are they at the same one this week?
Every year I feel pulled in two different directions. They’ve worked so hard all year at school; I want them to be able to relax in the summer. But they also can’t lay around all summer watching TV while I work at home. The idea of that stresses me out too! What’s the right balance? My husband and I plan out our summer, week by week, to find the perfect mix.
When summer rolls around, everything seems to work out. My boys love the summer camps that they are in and they also love being lazy at home. I work during the day and we swim in the evenings.
Summer goes by in a flash and before we know it, so do fall and winter. Once again it’s spring and we play this unhinged game of summer camp sign-up.
If you, too, have a shaky hand operating a computer mouse while trying to sign your kids up for summer camp in the next couple of months, know that I’m right there with you.
And I bet we are hoping that we each don’t take the last open spot in full-day camp.
