Well, summer camp season officially dawned for us this morning.  Celeste and I got up at 5:00 to roust our oldest child Michael from bed so we could drive him to Appalachian State University for a four day camp that focuses on forensic science.  Essentially it’s a "CSI" camp, and after seeing the agenda I’m highly jealous that I don’t get to spend four days at App State studying fingerprints, DNA extraction, arson, etc.

Actually, there’s another very good reason I’m jealous of Michael.  You see when I went to camp it was pretty much all guys.  I went to Wes Unseld’s basketball camp for a week when I was 12 and it was all guys.  I went to Camp Minnehaha in the mountains of West Virginia for a month one summer in my early teen years and it was all guys.  So we’re pulling away from the dorm that Michael’s staying in and what do we see but a boatload of cheerleaders crossing the street on their way to the big athletic field house that happens to be next door to Michael’s dorm.  Michael’s camp coincides with a cheerleader camp!  The boy is 15?!  I’m thinking that DNA extraction might be the last thing he’s thinking about studying.

On the flip side, he’s staying in a dorm room that if I’m any judge is about 25 years old.  No AC, although up in the mountains I don’t think it will be that big a deal, but it still has that old dorm smell.  Think high school football player’s locker at the end of the season and add a touch of river mud and you’ll be close.

Next week our middle child, Erin, leaves for a week long camp that is exactly five minutes from our house.  Not sure if that actually counts as "going to camp" but she’ll be out from under our roof so I guess it should.  Then in the third week of July all three kids will be heading to Laurel Ridge with our church youth group for mission camp.  Who do you think is having a party that week?