Picture me in camo gear holding binoculars...

Solomon on his first day of camp (Oregon Garden's Junior Master Gardener Camp).

Long time, no blog. Sorry 'bout that. You see, this last week was my eldest's first time at day camp. This had me sneaking around a rowdy bunch of Kindergartners and their counselor 8 hours a day.
See, I want my son to be a confidant, self-sufficient guy and all, but the world being as sick as it happens to be, well....I'm just not ready to relinquish my 5-year-old to it. So, I spent the better part of last week giving the illusion of independence but covertly tailing his group. I was "one of those moms". One of those moms who are "over-protective" and "stifling". I was the mom peeking out from behind the shrubbery during craft time or sneaking parallel to the hiking trail through nature walks. As Solomon reveled in the novelty of his brown bag lunch and ate with his new friends, I munched mine discretely behind the big oak tree, returning polite hellos from the camp personnel or smiling weakly at their raised eyebrows.
Solomon had a great time and I gained confidence in his self-reliance. We were both surprised at our maturity when he fell down and didn't cry for his Mommy but limped to his counselor, asking for a band-aid for his bloody knee, and I didn't bolt out from my den to his rescue but trusted that he could handle the situation by himself. We're really growing up. I'm proud of us.