Day 199 in 2021

Camp pick up day! We may have missed him more than he missed us, but he was pretty happy to see us anyway. I love camp pick-up because he talks more to us in the car on the way home, and all the rest of that first afternoon an evening, than he probably does all the rest of the year; he doesn't want to leave anything out, and I love hearing all of it.

We took this picture twice because I wanted to make sure I wasn't standing in a hole...

Day 196 in 2021

Day 189 in 2021

Camp care package ready to go...

Day 188 in 2021

Camp drop off, 2021.

We missed this horribly in 2020. I think I've talked before about how one of the hardest things about this pandemic has been the parenting. Even the most well-adjusted kids, even the used-to-be-homeschooled kids, need interaction and challenges outside the house every once in a while. This is especially true for parenting teenagers, who are just now at that moment in life when they are supposed to be getting ready to fledge and need the space to spread their wings. Calvin was such a trooper as he missed event after event, and we celebrated the return to, albeit very altered, in-person performances this spring. His beloved summer camp was something he had to give up last year, and it brought us great joy to be able to say yes to letting him go this year, thanks to vaccines, a relatively low R0, and really great precautionary measures put in place by the camp. This moment was joyous, but I'll admit that it feels like the eye of the storm, as though much of the threat has passed us, but a great amount is still out there and awaits just ahead.

Day 156 in 2021