Letters from the Camp Mom

As I write this, summer is still in the air. There’s a hornet’s nest in my backyard and the lantern flies are camouflaging themselves onto big city streets. It’s the beginning of September and I’m packing my children’s new school bookbags, checking Kindergarten supply lists, and having unusually long staring into space episodes as I shove yet another Dorito into my mouth from the drawer labeled “kids’ snacks”. As a parent in Brooklyn, things don’t seem to change too much for me in the summer. I still have to make a living, dinner has to be on the table, there’s cleaning to do, and bills, oh, so many bills! Not to mention I have to keep up with which Labubu my oldest daughter wants now. I miss camp, you guys. I miss the smell of chlorine, and my children’s tangled hair after a day of nonstop fun. As I meditate on the wonder that has passed, I begin to realize that what we create with JCC Brooklyn for our children’s summer is a long stretch of magic between June and September. For our kids, time doesn’t exist in the summer, and for our JCC kids, we strive to make their summer experience one they will talk about in years to come.

This summer season I witnessed so many of your little ones take huge leaps. When the first week of camp started, and the four year olds got off their bus rides with trepidation, I got to see them break out of their cocoons and hop fearlessly onto the air jumper. One child in an older group who told me she didn’t have a lot of friends at school, did a flip in the air on that thing as her camp buddies cheered her on “You’re doing it, you’re doing it!”. We built confidence this summer. For the children whose school years weren’t as thrilling, JCC Brooklyn Summer Day Camp became a safe haven to explore their likes as well as their own personalities. In the summertime, we thrive, and our families get a chance to change the narrative. Our campers get a chance to tell their own stories. I’m hoping to keep in touch with most of you during the year. Please keep me updated on how your children are doing. I dedicate this blog to the spirit of summer! We all have that happy place we go to in our minds, and summer camp is mine. Letting go of camp “is like trying to catch the wind.” Stay tuned for our camp events during the year, I can’t wait to reignite the spark.