Letters From Camp: "What I Need For Visiting Day"

Photo Courtesy Camp Echo Lake

 

My favorite day of the year was this past Saturday…

Visiting Day at Sleep-Away Camp!!!

For the uninitiated, Visiting Day is an event of epic proportions.  

It's right up there with Christmas, Chanukah, Halloween and the Superbowl.  

Bigger, maybe.

As soon as they board the buses to camp, 

kids start working on their "What I Need For Visiting Day" lists.  

If you are not familiar with the ritual of 

 "The Writing of the Visiting Day List,"

 I can tell you that it is 

Very. Serious. Business. 

In fact, it is equally important as Letters To Santa. 

Some might event say it's more important.

A great deal of research goes into preparing The List. 

Campers pay close attention to what their friends have, 

so they can ask for the water bottle that Dan has, 

the mouthwash that Jared has, and the sweatshirt the counselor has. 

They compare lists with cabin mates to make sure they are not forgetting anything,

 which explains why the bunk ends up with 12 bottles of Febreze on Visiting Day.

The Lists translate into SUV-loads of provisions brought to campers, 

who, in the span of three weeks, 

claim that their shampoo bottles have exploded, 

their battery-operated fans are broken, 

and that 18 pairs of socks are missing.

Before we even receive The List,

 Junior Goo Shoes always mentions it in his first phone call home:

"I'm sending you The List of things I need you to bring on Visiting Day."

What on earth could he possibly need?

Didn't I just send him off to camp with two trunks the size of cruise ships?......

(and I do mean Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas, not those smaller ones)….......

Although I have packed enough toiletries to last five years,

and clothes to dress the entire state of California, 

Junior Goo Shoes needs more of everything. 

And then some. 

Like, for instance, his huge baseball card collection......

and the dog.  

The List does include legitimate things, such as sunscreen and bug spray........

..…but these are strategically included only to get our attention, 

sprinkled in between the things he really wants, 

like toys and expensive anti-bed bug sheets. 

He knows that because we are vulnerable…....

because We MISS Him.......

it is the perfect time to ask for $150 sunglasses. 

Well, I've got my own Visiting Day list called "No Way in Hell Are You Getting That," 

and I'm putting the sunglasses on that list.

Back when Junior Goo Shoes was a new camper, 

he asked for a bunch of stuff to get him through the rest of summer.......

as well as a plea to take him home…....

........which will totally ripped my heart out. 

I cried not just through my entire pedi, but the mani, too, worrying about what exactly, does this mean? 

He's asking for all this STUFF, but he's not planning on staying?

I especially appreciate when The List includes helpful information, 

like where to find the requested items. 

I suppose the thinking is if it's easy for me to find, 

he's more likely to actually get it.

Inevitably, The List includes something like "my orange frisbee thing" 

that we have to turn the garage inside out to find…

And every list includes…CANDY. 

        (Notice "take me home" in between Shampoo and iPod speakers).

If I am lucky, I  receive The List well in advance, 

so that I have adequate time to google things, like 

"What is a vuvuzela and where do I get one?"

But more than likely, the letters will arrive 

just as we're getting in the car to drive up to camp.

On "Erev" Visiting Day, we load the car and make our pilgrimage up to the mountains. 
(*For my non-Jewish friends, "erev" means "night before" in Hebrew).

In the morning, we patiently wait behind barricades, laden with bags of goodies…....

Photo Courtesy Camp Echo Lake

 

….....waiting for the camp owner to give the signal to start the Parental Stampede.

Photo Courtesy Camp Echo Lake

 

We run all the way to the bunk, shlepping all our stuff…....

.......and after hugs and kisses and lots of 

"You grew so much since you left" comments,

 it  takes Junior Goo Shoes less than two minutes to ask…

"What did you bring me?"

We apologize that we couldn't find the Cyber Fire toy, 

and explain how we went to seven toy stores in five states to try to get one.

Which is when he looks at us and says, 

"Huh?" What Cyber Fire toy?"

So there's the kicker...He doesn't even remember what was on The List.

The only thing he cares about is whether we brought two things:

Candy…

and

Charmin Ultra Soft Toilet Paper.

This year as we were saying our goodbyes, Junior Goo Shoes says the unthinkable.

"Can you take all the candy I didn't eat, back home?"

WHAT????? 

My very first thought was, should we take him to the infirmary? 

He obviously must be delirious with fever. 

WHY??????

"Because, every year, half the kids throw up after Visiting Day. 

Justin has thrown up every single year. 
Take it home because I don't want to throw up." 

Wow, have things changed. 

My little boy is growing up. 

Sending candy home… now that's a Visiting Day first. 

How fitting, because this is his last Visiting Day as a camper.

Sob…(that's me, not him). 

I'm actually gonna miss those lists.

 

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