summer camp is over!

A few hours ago, I picked up the "button" at summer camp.

There weren't any hugs.  No exchange of addresses. No joyous voices saying, "mom, this is the guy I was telling you about".  No sunburns either.  And there certainly wasn't any "Cannot WAIT to come back next year".

Instead it was a young man looking at his mom through the glass and he tried to dance a jig (not always easy when your hands and feet are secured) with a big cheesy grin.

I stood outside and in the "holding area" (that's where the police cars bring them in, batcave like) and watched all the tv monitors through the glass.  The only thing I could thing of was, "one of these things is not like the others, one of these just doesn't belong, can you guess which thing is not like the others, before I finish my song?" Straight from Sesame Street.

And then, what seemed like a lifetime, the "button" came through the doors, with our new friend, a guardian angel, "Mr. R".

Mr. R is a big man, giant blue eyes and the biggest angel you will ever know. 

We stood there, the three of us, and he told "the button", "this is it man, a new beginning and a second chance...not many people get it.  Before you walk out this door, know what you are getting and seize it."

The "button" grabbed his transparent bag of minimal belongs, nodded, hugged, thanked and then said let's go".

Talk about the walk of shame.  Jail slippers and socks and clothes that have been dirty for over a month, that is what he sported.

I wouldn't get out of a car one time because there was a smudge on my white shoes and here my son is walking out in public with Jail slippers and dirty socks.  

After a dental teeth cleaning, hair cut, new shoes and a 40 minute shower, he was a new man on the outside.

He is a forever changed man on the inside.  He never quit talking.  Never.  

What did he miss the most?
1.  fresh air
2.  soap
3.  soft clothes, sheets and towels
4.  silence
5.  sunrise and sunset


What has he discovered?
1.  Shame
2.  Seeking of forgiveness
3.  Character
4.  who his friends are and are not
5.  and once again, the only people still there were those damn evil parents

What did I notice the most?
1.  Humbleness
2.  how appreciative he was about everything
3.  a new sense of maturity
4.  calmness
5.  a  new found wisdom

He noticed that people "on the outside are obsessed with cell phones" and he is bothered by this.  Interesting, because he was.  When we shopped, he was only interested in items that were soft.  Not the labels, just the softness.

He told his stories and released his feelings.


And then, he told me that he was awarded the "good housekeeping award" from the guards.  He always had the cleanest cell and he bought a bar of Irish spring just to sit out and use a an air freshener and everybody always commented on how clean his cell smelled. He asked for a mop and bucket of soapy water everytime he was moved and he washed down his area.  Yes, it was my "summer camp"  "damn I am proud of my boy moment.

I got his siblings and headed for every "campers" favorite hot spot, Five Guys and Burgers and Fries.  Two big burgers, one large fry and one regular Cajun is what he consumed.

I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed that he was in the middle seat, the siblings were on each side of him, holding his sands while they watched a movie.  

For the first time on months, my ass cheeks were not clenched tight enough to open a coke bottle and there was some joy going through my veins.

Maybe summer camp wasn't so bad after all.