Ahh, summer camp – the season of bug screen, sunblock and sweat! I’m sure you are asking yourself, there’s still snow on the ground, why are you bringing up summer camp? Because summer camp registration season has begun!
My town just held registration for its summer camp. Don’t get me wrong, they have a great summer program and my girls enjoyed going last year, but unless you know or are a computer hacker that can bypass firewalls and mainframes, your odds of getting into the camp are slim.
As a self-proclaimed worrywart, the uncertainty of if my kids will make it in, is excruciating. Like so many other parents, my husband and I both work full-time and it’s hard finding a summer program to accommodate working parent’s schedules. Who can skip out of work to send their kid to an hour and a half sports camp in the middle of the day? Or pick them up at 3pm, because that’s the end of the program’s “day”? Why penalize working parents by making them pay extra for extended hours? Don’t get me started, this is a hot-button issue for me. I digress…
Summer camp registration began at 6am, which meant I didn’t sleep a wink. I worried I would oversleep and a thousand ‘what ifs’, but at 5:30am, I was poised and ready to go. I was logged in with everything I needed to pull the trigger. When the system went live at 6am, I got a notice the session was FULL. Instantly. I refreshed my browser thinking it must be an error, but no dice. ONE MINUTE after summer camp registration opened it was FULL. Either this is the greatest camp on the face of the Earth or the town might need to reconsider how adequate the program is to its resident’s needs.
One lousy minute, ruined my entire day.
Now the exploration has begun; I’m on the hunt for the best kids’ summer experience. What do working parents do with their kids during the summer? Email me at [email protected].
