We get to pick our youngest daughter up from camp. That’s right, three weeks have gone by, and today we get to pick Avi up. Zoe won’t be back until Sunday, but by Monday night, all my little chicks will be under one roof.

Camp is over, my girls will be back in town, and I’m pretty darn happy about that.

It’s been three weeks since we dropped Avi off. Three long weeks, according to her letters. I understand these homesick letters. I used to write them. I was a pro. My writing skills started at a young age, and I was excellent at drafting letters to try and guilt my parents into picking me up.

Of course, it never worked.

In her letters to us, Avi asked us to pick her up. Repeatedly.

And then, when she realized we wouldn’t, she went to plan B. She wrote one set of her Grandparents, and asked THEM to pick her up.

I give the girl credit. I’m a big fan of perseverance.

I can tell from the pictures online that she’s having a good time, even if she won’t admit it, and I can’t wait to hear about it. The thing about writing a homesick letter, is that’s how you felt in THAT EXACT MOMENT. When you sat down to write it. And nothing makes you more homesick than taking time to sit down, and write to the people you love and miss. Just writing the words, “Dear Mom and Dad,” would push me over the edge. My letters probably were all stained with tears.

We’ll pick up Avi, hug her so tightly she won’t be able to breathe, and then hopefully hear how great camp was. How she was homesick, but how she made it work, grew a little, and enjoyed herself.

I really hope that’s what we hear. The opportunity was right there for her taking, and I hope she made the most of her time at camp.

Zoe, on the other hand, can have her phone with her at camp. A decision that I find perplexing, but also enjoyable. It means I get to see all her pictures while she’s still there. And there’s nothing a teenage girl likes to do more than take pictures and post them.

A little space from each other, just for a little bit of time, is good for everyone.

If you’re getting letters from your kids begging you to pick them up, call the Camp Director, send a guilt package, but stay strong. I think the worst thing you can do, is pick up your child early from camp. They have to learn they can do it and make it on their own.

The smile you will see on their faces, when you pick them up, will make it all worthwhile.

Find meaning each day,

Dara