Camp Rock Sans The Jonas Brothers

They say there is nothing sadder and more pitiful than a sick child.  I say there is one thing sadder and more pathetic by far - the parent of said sick child.  Especially when said child is sick from days 3 - 6 of the 7 day Stanford Sierra Camp for which said parent has been on the wait list for 7 years.  To say expectations were high would be an understatement....

Amazingly, expectations have been met and, in many cases, surpassed.  I had two days of carefree, child-free, non-stop canoeing, kayaking, hiking and tennis.  The kids were running around with their counselors, chanting their group chants, doing their own hiking and kayaking, learning about fragile ecosystems with some mermaids and magic sprinkled in.  They had a story hour while I went on the adult-only lake cruise with wine and cheese.  They had a puppet show while I listened to a guest faculty speaker.  It was glorious.  Every family camp should be like this.  

And if you have to be cabin-bound with a sick child for three days, it could be worse than being in a three-bedfoom cabin at a lakeside family camp - with Internet access!  As Ellington takes his second nap for the day, I am sitting out on our deck and typing, while watching the sailing regatta challenge.  No regrets there - you have to be at least an intermediate-level sailor to participate and having failed 2 midterms and barely passed the sailing class at Stanford over a decade ago, on the windless Lake Lag no less, I am still considered beginner, dammit!  However, I do have regrets about not being able to watch the staff vs guest volleyball tournament - I had high hopes it would be a live re-enactment of the volleyball scene from Top Gun.  At least on the staff side - some of those college kids are fit like only 20 year olds can be.  But I digress....

The moral of the story is:  If you are a Stanford alumni and have not yet begun applying for the Stanford Sierra Camp, start now and you just might get off the waitlist before your kids leave for college.  If you are not a Stanford alumni, hook yourself up with one now.  This is a summer camp every child, and parent, should experience.