Lose a little, gain a little

Theo and Eli are saying goodbye to summer with one last week out at daycamp. I have to say it was a brilliant move on my part to sign them up. The tension of the upcoming change in our schedule has them both a bit on edge, whether they realize it or not, so they are tempted to bug each other a bit more regularly than usual. Camp keeps them occupied and seperated, two things I would have had trouble doing this week as I gear back up for the onslaught of new students at school. They both love camp, although they go about showing this in different ways. Eli gets off the bus and on the way home thoughtfully shares with me the highlights of his day. Theo kind of jumps off the bus, eyes wide, clothes fantastically dirty, and his back pack much lighter than when he left in the morning. He is having so much fun he simply does not have time to keep track of his stuff. In one day he managed to lose his hat, raincoat, shorts, underwear, and swimshirt. Luckily he had a swimsuit to wear home. Sheesh. But it doesn't bother him a bit. Eli, on the other hand, checks and rechecks that backpack before heading out to the bus.

At daycamp they spend all day outside, in the middle of a field of plants that all send allergens straight to Theo's respitory system. I like to think of it is that he loses a little, gains a little- loses much clothing, comes home with many allergens working magic in his body. His eyes get red, his nose drives him wild with itching, he sneezes, and gets oh so wheezy. This week he managed to get hit so badly that he had to take a day off to recuperate and shake a fever. This was torture for him. He was sitting in the hallway shaky with fever when he heard me say that he would not be going that day. Immediately he struggled to his feet and said, "Look Mom! I can stand up! I can walk....I can....do....a....jumping....ja" and then, plop, back to a seated position, defeat written across his face. Poor guy. Luckily, one day of rest and relaxation got him to a place where he could rejoin the last day of fun today. Just in time to scatter his belongings to the wind one last time.