Rob's home but his raincoat isn't!

He may be my quietest child--may be my ONLY quiet child, but his absence is so loud.  All week long I would sort of half forget that Rob was away at camp. I'd have that sports trivia I wanted to share and no one to share it with.  I'd go upstairs at night and his bedroom door was open and the room was empty.  It was just sort of off kilter feeling a bit. 

I'm glad he went.  He loves it there.  He grows there.  There is somehow a perfect balance at this camp of the familiar and known, and the new, so that each year he stretches a little, grows just a wee bit more in confidence and maturity.  Though obviously packing skills and keeping track of "stuff" is still a work in progress as we came home without a new raincoat and a fairly new hoodie.  Sigh.  But in the grand scheme of things, it's not that big a deal.

The kids and i were up at 5:30 this morning because we were leaving by 6:30 and well, we were excited.  We were out the door right on time, hit Dunkins and made it to Maine in really good time.  I had thought that traffic might be a problem but it was clear sailing.  We got to the camp, and did the myriad leave taking details.  Had time to walk on the beach and for KC and Lissa to play at the playground a bit. 

Got back to the car and attempted to set the GPS to take us from the camp to my mothers house in Maine.  GPS would not turn on.  I gave it to Rob who is my go-to tech guy.  Nada.  I called Kirsty on the cell phone.  Nada.  She gave me directions verbally over the phone.  (yes, I know it was MY mother's house.  I am so seriously directionally impaired I would miss my OWN house if I approached from a new angle!)  We set off.

And all was good till we got lost.  But then somehow Rob got the GPS going and it turned out I was only a few miles off (and no where near Wisconsin or Iowa or something yet.  Truly my lack of directional abilities is legendary and faintly pathetic but I have come to terms with this limitation.)  We thus were only a few minutes late to the Nana, which is very good.  One should not keep Nana waiting.  LOL  Trust me, I speak the truth.

We ate lunch with her, kids played a bit, we chatted a bit. Then she said she had to go to the farmers market which was kind of a cue.  Time to go boys and girls!  GPS was willing to work again; it must have just needed a mid day nap.  And by the time I hit the highway all 3 kids that were with me were asleep.  This was surreal.  I can count on one hand the number of times in his life that Rob has fallen asleep in the car.  Turns out that they got up at 4:30 this morning to watch the sun come up over the ocean so that was why he was whipped.  He slept most of the way home and so did KC. Lissa woke about half way home.

The traffic was heavier on the way back but not horrid.  And I have a speed pass transponder gizmo that is so worth its weight in gold.  No slowing down even at certain tolls and in bad weather, I never have to even roll down my window.  I love that thing.

When we got home I grabbed the mail out of the mail box.  There were 2 postcards from Rob.  One to the family and one specifically to KC and Lissa.  I know it came the day he came home but this was huge with a capital H.  In the previous years, he has never written us from camp.  We have hinted broadly (year 1) and begged (year 2)  But nothing.  This year i said nothing but noticed that he packed postcards and a pen when we got his gear together.  Rob has always been the child that counselors exclaimed happily about because he is never homesick.  This year i don't think he was homesick, but he allowed himself to show caring and love for us in a new way and that is so great.  Healing comes in fits and starts in my experience but this was a big leap for him.  He could see too that we were all excited about the cards. It didn't matter that they arrived when he did; they showed he thought about us while he was gone, just like we were thinking of him.

And for him, there was a bouquet of orange balloons to celebrate his return home.  And a scratch art drawing of his favorite things by little brother KC.