They say that the time away at camp is always harder on the parents than it is on the kids… this year, I’m going to 100% agree with that. Especially with the way the month played out. Although Jared and I are able to navigate through tour a little easier without Rudy, it is never as beautiful. Plus, everywhere we went without him, people were constantly asking “Where’s Rudy?” or, “Wow, I sure wish Rudy had come along.” Yes, we do, too. Our lives are infinitely better when Rudy is with us. So as we rolled into Durango, the anticipation of holding our boy in our arms was palpable. We were giddy and had a difficult time sleeping that night. The reunion was doubly exciting because we also were going to get to celebrate Rudy’s “Golden Birthday”! He was turning eleven on the 11th of August, and, even though we weren’t going to be home, we were going to do our best to make him feel special.
The way his camp works is the night before parents pick up their kids, they hold a “campfire” ceremony in which the kids share skits, songs, and stories they’ve been working on. All parents are invited to come watch and cheer on their kids. My favorite part is the plaques that the counselors hand write, read out loud to each child, and then present them with it to take home. I always cry, even when it’s not Rudy, because the kids all look so proud of themselves and they have formed such strong bonds with the counselors over the summer. It’s all really touching, funny and memorable, and I’m so glad parents are included. After the “campfire” time, the kids get one more evening together, celebrated by a dance party, then we get to take our babies home the next morning.
Jared and I spent the day cruising around Durango and collecting different treasures to make Rudy’s actual birthday special.
So Jared and I had a plan to surprise Rudy by putting some balloons and a plushie (a gift from “Rudy’s fans” (and our friends) “Heaven and Kevin”) in his cabin while we were all up at the campfire, so when he got back that evening, he would be surprised. We conspired with our favorite camp administrator, Merideth, or “Peaches” as the kiddos call her, to secretly put the gifts in the cabin!!!
When we got to camp, we were told the kids were just finishing dinner and we could head up to the Lodge and meet them there. We made the hike from the parking area to the Lodge, quietly and a little nervous. “Do you think he’s upset we left him there for a month?” I asked Jared. “I don’t think so.” He replied. But we both had reservations because, even though we had received a couple letters from him saying he was having a good time, there were also parts of those letters that shared some tears and hardships. The general feeling was that he was proud of himself, learning a lot, making friends and having a great time. But we never got to hear his voice, so it was hard to tell.
As we approached the Lodge, we could hear a cacophony of voices, laughter, shouting, and rustling about. The place was swarming with kids and parents, reuniting and holding each other. The parents, smiling on as kids shot rapid-fire recall of their summer’s events, trying to cram a month of stories into a minute of monologue. I scanned the room for our boy. There he sat, skin glowing pink from the sun, hair sweaty and bleached, smile stretching across his face as we locked eyes between the sea of parents, kids, counselors and staff. Immediate tears came before we could even get close enough to touch. Dad finally saw what I was seeing and by that time, Rudy had jumped up and was bounding towards us. We triple embraced, the warmth of his skin flooding into my whole body and soul, Jared’s arms wrapping around us both, as we kissed between tears and “I love you’s”.
He was as excited as ever to see us, but even he recognized the specialness of the moment, and we all took a minute to align our breathing and be quiet with one another, cherishing the bond that we share. He had a s’more to grab before we headed down to “campfire”, and it was hard to let him go just to get that. When he came back, s’more in hand, we embraced him again as if it were the first time. He never pushed away our kisses or squirmed out of hugs. He just soaked it all in and reciprocated all the loves. I hated stopping holding him even for the second it took to snap a picture, but I wanted to capture it forever.
On the way down to the “campfire” we held hands and laughed, making inappropriate jokes that he’d probably been holding in for a month. Although he did say his counselor allowed the boys “trail talk”, a time for flexing their cerebral muscles by creating new ways to verbally top each other with playful jibes, gross jokes, potty humor, and all that glorious stuff that makes time away from school and rules so very precious, so he’d been practicing! I imagined his Summer looking like scenes from “Stand By Me”, and I just smiled even more. What a cool experience he had!
Those cheeks!!!
Fred’s third trip to camp. He DEFINITELY needed a bath…
I couldn’t stop kissing him!
Maybe my favorite picture ever!
Team “Cracker Jack” after the plaque ceremony, getting hugs from their counselors.
It was getting darker as the skits and ceremonies went on, so my images are a bit grainy, but Rudy was spoken of so highly and so proud of his accomplishments! We were too….
Rudy played a counselor in his skit. He was the “Cool Guy”. (Duh)
The director of camp, Clay, singing his original song to close up camp, “Colorado Stars”, as all of the kids and parents circled around him and sang along.
It was very difficult to say goodnight to Rudy, but he was super excited for the last night of fun and the big dance. Plus, he had a surprise to get to and WE were excited about that. I guess we’ll let you have your last night of fun while your dad and I cry ourselves to sleep… Just kidding (kind of). See you tomorrow, sweet boy.
