tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post3615821068564941327..comments2023-12-16T13:01:57.794-08:00Comments on shh, don't wake the DRUNKEN HOUSEWIFE: the farewellthe Drunken Housewifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-38301942356810891762010-07-12T19:32:15.850-07:002010-07-12T19:32:15.850-07:00This breaks my heart (as always, I'm late to t...This breaks my heart (as always, I'm late to the party) to think of an eight year old crying about something that should be fun. We sent oldest DD to camp for one week when she was 12; she was so homesick she wrote multiple letters about it. Youngest DD just confessed that she wasn't ready to go off (at age 14) for three weeks for Joffrey ballet. <br /><br />That said, I didn't regret sending older DD off, because she a) wanted to go and b) had her best friend at the time, with her. It was not a case of forcing a child to go. She didn't have the best time; her very much indulged best friend loved every minute of it; but she was able to say she'd experienced camp.Missyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00571974304103698871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-24297640889178728372010-07-09T16:19:37.540-07:002010-07-09T16:19:37.540-07:00Dear domspiro, thank you for delurking!
I've ...Dear domspiro, thank you for delurking!<br /><br />I've been really feeling depressed, fretting about Iris, when the truth most likely is that, like you, she's having a fabulous time. I hope she does also treasure her letters from home (and being a bookish mommy, I sent her a comic and a book. I would have sent candy if it hadn't been strictly forbidden).the Drunken Housewifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-77522779223437436732010-07-09T14:08:42.160-07:002010-07-09T14:08:42.160-07:00I've lurked for ages, but just couldn't an...I've lurked for ages, but just couldn't any longer after the last post. I went to sleep-away camp at the same age that Iris is now, and my mom also sent letters. Knowing what I now know about the postal system, I'm sure she also wrote ahead of time. I liked camp. I loved the letters. I still have a few, in fact, in their purple clown stamped envelopes. I'll be thinking of you and Iris!domspironoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-91843113830194598352010-07-07T20:55:49.348-07:002010-07-07T20:55:49.348-07:00I actually feel a little teary now, fretting about...I actually feel a little teary now, fretting about Iris. I'm pretty sure she's fine, but maybe she is suffering a lot from homesickness. Ten is young still, even a headstrong ten year-old like Iris. <br /><br />I am comforted that she has mail every day. I sent her 2 books (both funny ones in case she needed a laugh) & another letter, her dad made her a little photo book (pix of all the pets & family), and Lola drew her some drawings accompanied by inscrutable sayings.the Drunken Housewifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-56304793416663218082010-07-07T20:24:36.273-07:002010-07-07T20:24:36.273-07:00DH, if the counselors do their job right, I'm ...DH, if the counselors do their job right, I'm sure your little Iris will be one of the happy and successful ones. It sounds like you sent her off with a firm foundation of self-confidence and self-awareness. ("Yes, I might be homesick, but it will be OK.") I wonder what her observations about that poor frightened and abandoned (there's no other way to put it) little camp mate will be. With what we know about Iris -- her perceptivity, her compassionate nature -- it won't surprise me at all to hear that she's the one who by now has befriended the sad child and turns out to be the real heroine in this story.<br /><br />That said, of *course* you are anxious, not knowing for sure how it's all going. I'd worry about you if you were not worried about her! <br /><br />I tell ya, this parenting gig is definitely not for sissies!<br /><br />Hang in there. She'll be back tormenting her sister and regaling you with stories in no time :-)Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716839866042506364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-24074462006525619482010-07-07T19:52:40.750-07:002010-07-07T19:52:40.750-07:00Carroll, I can't get that little girl out of m...Carroll, I can't get that little girl out of my mind. She was so firmly, positively against going to camp, crying so hard, fighting so hard. And for half an hour... that's a long time to fight. I really doubt she perked up and was ready to spend a week away from home after a long, hot bus ride.<br /><br />The S.H. and I are concerned about our little Iris, who got on that bus willingly but had mixed emotions about going. She said she was going to be homesick, but she knew there were going to be cool things at camp. I wish we could talk to her or email her and hear how it's going. I'm having separation anxiety myself!the Drunken Housewifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-4508717822964037092010-07-07T19:47:59.142-07:002010-07-07T19:47:59.142-07:00Old Soul, I didn't forget you! We (or rather,...Old Soul, I didn't forget you! We (or rather, peremptively, me) are treating this more positively and declaring it A Celebration Of Lola Week.the Drunken Housewifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-53505015686902052632010-07-07T13:02:21.833-07:002010-07-07T13:02:21.833-07:00DH, that's exactly what the staff *should* hav...DH, that's exactly what the staff *should* have told that awful awful mother (not that I'm inclined to be judgmental about the parenting choices of complete strangers or anything) Gah, what a memory to be imposing on that child. I'm a firm believer that children bloom when they are ready, and that poor baby was giving *every* indication she just plain wasn't ready. I know this links squarely into the "let them cry it out when you want them to sleep through the night" controversy (I never could handle that) and the "He stopped crying the minute after you walked out the door" babysitter/nursery school controversy. But really, people. Sure, parents are in a bind about making child care plans over the summer, but I bet this was not the very first moment that child sent "I don't want to go/I'm not ready for this" messages to that parent. Surely there were less traumatic alternatives. Smart money says this story turns up on a therapist's couch in about 20 years.Carrollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12716839866042506364noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-41344760180811900642010-07-07T12:13:06.046-07:002010-07-07T12:13:06.046-07:00Believe me, Claire, I was thinking that. It felt ...Believe me, Claire, I was thinking that. It felt so wrong for that little girl, for her bunkmates, and for her counselors for her to be physically forced onto that bus. She put up a vigorous physical fight for nearly half an hour that I saw. I was hoping that the staff were going to tell the mother that she needed to take her daughter back home and that she'd get a refund.the Drunken Housewifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-66220001129429589282010-07-07T12:11:01.295-07:002010-07-07T12:11:01.295-07:00Thankfully Iris doesn't own a p-nus, so hopefu...Thankfully Iris doesn't own a p-nus, so hopefully that won't occur. That reminds me of how my brother-in-law once inappropriately sent a large number of relatives an email wherein he made mention of his "penus." The Sober Husband was pissed at me when I pointed out that his brother can't spell "penis." "I knew you were going to pick on him for that," he grumbled. Believe me, that email was sheer gold.the Drunken Housewifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14606104534453493304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-69418592364549039952010-07-07T11:18:58.666-07:002010-07-07T11:18:58.666-07:00Hopefully you won't be getting any letters hom...Hopefully you won't be getting any letters home similar to this:<br /><br />http://tinyurl.com/3y2f73tNonymousGoatsePantsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-34354508015173857772010-07-07T09:03:05.466-07:002010-07-07T09:03:05.466-07:00You know what, my daughter is a counselor at Girl ...You know what, my daughter is a counselor at Girl Scouts this summer (six degrees of separation, what?), and she came home for a wee break in between sessions, and she told me how hard it was to deal with kids who were homesick.<br /><br />So, on the off-chance she has this kid in her group, you know what, mom-who-shoved-her-child-on-the-bus,, there are MANY people in this equation. Not just you and your kid. Think about the people on the other end dealing with your kid who has massive separation anxiety. Whether this is appropriate at this age is moot. Do not put the burden of your family's dynamics in the laps of other people who should not have to deal with them and who are not trained to handle them. Garden-variety anxiety is one thing. This sounds much greater than that.<br /><br />::SHAKES FIST IN RAGE::Claire M. Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01714407719530073304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25324039.post-26815346453208823782010-07-07T08:15:08.336-07:002010-07-07T08:15:08.336-07:00Oh boy. On a more cheery note, is Lola going to ha...Oh boy. On a more cheery note, is Lola going to have 'National No-Iris Week' again?Oldsoul_NotQuitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01374914454270642590noreply@blogger.com