Can my kids possibly have more fun without me than with me?  Seriously, I am a fun mom who likes to do fun things and I love to share fun with my kids.

It dawned on Stephen and I that our girls have never experienced summer camp, except for Julia.  Camps are expensive and usually we could either afford a vacation or camp. I met my husband at camp 20 years ago.  Camp Firwood is where my faith was rooted,  it’s the place where I met many of my greatest friends that are still in my life 20 years later.  It’s the place where the world goes away, and you experience the mountain high.  It’s a place where adventure is real and the activities are as great as any Club Med. From ski boats, sailing, to paint ball, to learning about God, Firwood has it all. My girls have heard the legendary stories all their lives from the skits, to the ski boats to the bats in our cabin.  They have always wanted to go, but time and cost prevented this from happening.

So, once again, like I do every summer, I got on line and looked at what it would cost to send my girls to Camp Firwood.  Sticker shock! Ugggg, $ 378 a child.

We thought about it, we considered all the other things that we could spend money on, I thought about the new lens I wanted for my camera, I thought about the different places we could go as a family.  Can I possibly spend this much money on my kids?  That is a lot of money.

The other day Isabel told me she wanted to grow spiritually.  Our family is in church transition right now and Isabel feels a little lost. She doesn’t have a lot of friends that share her faith.  Grace, she is at an age where she wants to leave the nest a little more often.  She wants to spread her wings and for the first time ever, she asked if she could go away to camp.  Julia has been planning on attending her youth group summer camp for a long time now, so we were prepared to spend money to send her.

After thinking about it though, we finally bit the bullet and $1,000 later, all my girls are going to camp this summer…without me. I haven’t seen my kids this excited since we went to Kenya on a Compassion trip.   Adventure, spiritual growth, friendship, fun and time away from home seems to appeal to my children.

I am excited for them.  I wish I could go along as a fly on the wall, but I guess I will just have to wait to hear their stories.  I look forward to my kids sharing an experience that was so important to Stephen and me.  Summer camp is a magical place that every kid needs to experience, at least once!

By the way, Firwood has scholarships available for families who cannot afford camp, so check it out if you are interested.