A Mommy Story

This morning there was a noticeable excitement in the air. After a week of having the kids bored at home most days while I worked, we were all looking forward to this week’s plans.

Lunches were packed this morning, towels and bathing suits were labeled with their names and packed up, sunscreen was in easy reach. Cordy and Mira were ready for summer day camp, and I was ready to have my peaceful work space back.

I kissed them both goodbye as Aaron hurried them out the door this morning to the car. It’s been raining all morning, and they ran to the car to avoid getting too wet. I felt a little bad that their first day of camp would be indoors, at least for the morning, and made a mental note to pick them up early today so they could ease into their first day of camp.

I took a deep breath, relaxing in front of the computer in total quiet, with only the dog for company. Looking through my email, I started to plan for the day ahead.

And then my cell phone rang. I figured Aaron had just dropped them off and wanted to tell me how it went. “Hello?”

“Hi. You might want to re-check the dates of summer camp this year.”

“Wait, what?”

“Summer camp doesn’t begin until next week.”

“WHAT?”

As Aaron confirmed that there was no one there and he was coming back with the kids before going to work, I pulled up the website to look at the dates again.

June 17. Argh.

I was certain that it started today. For the last few years, camp has always started one week after school ended. I was so certain that I had marked it on my calendar with this date. I’d made a doctor appointment knowing that I wouldn’t need someone to watch the kids during that time. How did I get it so wrong?

So summer camp doesn’t begin until next week, which means I need to re-figure my plans for this week. I guess all of my excitement at having our summer routine back made me bump up the dates in my head.

On the bright side, there won’t be any hurrying around the house next Monday to prepare all of their supplies for summer camp. Everything is already neatly packed in bags, ready to go. And I won’t need to make them lunch today – they can eat the packed meal intended for camp.

I feel like an idiot for mixing up the dates. The kids are a little disappointed, but not too upset. I’m probably more disappointed than they are.

At this point, I’ll be triple-checking the back-to-school dates before adding it to the calendar.

Mistakes happen, right? Please tell me I’m not the only one who got the day wrong for an event for her kids.