The summer of 2014 will be my oldest son's third summer at Deep Woods (he will be 12 this summer). It is obvious to me that Deep Woods has had a profound and lasting effect on him. After camp this past summer, he spent his first week home sleeping in a tent in the back yard (the tent was a luxury!). For the year between his first and second summers, he was telling us little stories about camp right up until we were pulling up to Deep Woods again. Often and at seemingly random times, he'll say things like "I had the best set-up at Bear Lake" or "Your eggs are pretty good, but Kells' are better" or "We hiked 40 miles in five days." We chose Deep Woods because my son was looking for an overnight camp where he could "do boy things with other boys out in the woods." Other than an overnight camp focused on outdoor activities, we were searching for a secular camp. We also were looking for a camp that offered a two-week session because, although my son asked to go away to camp, he was still a bit nervous about the endeavor. We read many, many camp websites that described all the activities they offered and detailed the daily schedule. None of those camps were of much interest to our son. After reading the Deep Woods website, he simply said "that's where I want to go." Even though the shortest session was four weeks, he was so excited about the camp that he said he wanted to give it a try. The first summer we were a little concerned that he might lose weight over the month because we knew he would be so active. But when he got home, he was actually a pound or two heavier because Kells knows active, growing boys need hearty meals like scrambled eggs and pancakes for breakfast and lasagna for dinner. Kells also knows that there are boys who need a camp where they can be in the woods and swim in a lake and hike up a mountain and spend the evenings playing flashlight tag or playing board games or just hanging out. After each summer, my son seems a little more confident and a little more grown up than he otherwise might be had he spent the summer at home. I sometimes think that in order for him to compete in our increasingly competitive world, he should be spending summers at math camp and computer camp and baseball camp. But then I remind myself that one of the best things we can do for him is let him have time to himself. I won't lie: it's very difficult to leave him at camp for four weeks. We spend a lot of time wondering when we will get our next letter (no phone calls allowed!), hoping to hear news of his latest adventure on the trail or rock climbing or canoeing. His little brother will be attending this summer as well. We are really looking forward to seeing how much he will change and grow after his month at Deep Woods. read more