This past week, we sent our daughter to Sailing Camp so that she could learn how to sail a little sailboat.
First of all, it took me 2 weeks to decide whether or not to send her. There were many factors to consider. Will she be safe? Will she really learn anything? Will she enjoy it? Will she want to go all week? Is it worth the money and time? Do I want to suspend my life for a week while she goes to this camp?
After all of this consideration, we decided to go ahead and take her. It involved staying with family for 5 days because the camp was 2 hours away from home and near my in-laws.
The good things that happened:
My daughter learned some sailing terms and felt the thrill of sailing on her own.
She saw how many other kids enjoyed sailing.
Got great exercise.
Spent time learning how to get along with other kids
The not-so-good things that happened:
Cried every morning when she had to leave a house full of cousins.
The wind didn't blow every day.
She was exhausted by the end of the week
Cried every night when she had to go to bed before the rest of her cousins
All-in-all it was a good experience for all of us. The most painful thing for me was to pry her away from family each morning to spend the day away from us. I had an idea that it would be difficult, but it was harder than I had thought it would be. The other thing was that the kids didn't sail every day. Wind is not guaranteed to blow at a certain time, so the down-time was a bummer. Next time, maybe private lessons would be a better idea.
Well, the week is over and I am spending time decompressing at home. I'm doing laundry, cleaning up, and hanging out with my girls. After spending a week out of our "comfort zones" it's nice to be home doing the usual things.
Have any of you out there done things out of your "comfort zones" this summer?
First of all, it took me 2 weeks to decide whether or not to send her. There were many factors to consider. Will she be safe? Will she really learn anything? Will she enjoy it? Will she want to go all week? Is it worth the money and time? Do I want to suspend my life for a week while she goes to this camp?
After all of this consideration, we decided to go ahead and take her. It involved staying with family for 5 days because the camp was 2 hours away from home and near my in-laws.
The good things that happened:
My daughter learned some sailing terms and felt the thrill of sailing on her own.
She saw how many other kids enjoyed sailing.
Got great exercise.
Spent time learning how to get along with other kids
The not-so-good things that happened:
Cried every morning when she had to leave a house full of cousins.
The wind didn't blow every day.
She was exhausted by the end of the week
Cried every night when she had to go to bed before the rest of her cousins
All-in-all it was a good experience for all of us. The most painful thing for me was to pry her away from family each morning to spend the day away from us. I had an idea that it would be difficult, but it was harder than I had thought it would be. The other thing was that the kids didn't sail every day. Wind is not guaranteed to blow at a certain time, so the down-time was a bummer. Next time, maybe private lessons would be a better idea.
Well, the week is over and I am spending time decompressing at home. I'm doing laundry, cleaning up, and hanging out with my girls. After spending a week out of our "comfort zones" it's nice to be home doing the usual things.
Have any of you out there done things out of your "comfort zones" this summer?
6 comments:
Well, she definitely learned what an important factor wind is to sailing. That's just part of the whole experience. I think I'm going to take some sailing lessons while I'm here...Paul knows how to sail, so I have to keep up with him! His dream is to buy a sailboat and go on family sailing expeditions...I'm not so sure that's my dream, though!
I took Ethan to swimming lessons at the Y for 2 weeks. He cried every day, often during the lesson. It was hard for me to watch and to force him to go, but I know how important it is for his safety, especially considering how much time he spends in the pool.
Okay, I had to share because I just commented on this post this morning and then went to the boathouse and signed up for sailing lessons, only to find out at lunchtime: a family up here just GAVE US their 15' sailboat today!!! There was a flyer at our post office offering a FREE sailboat, so Paul called right away and it turned out to be a family he knew! They're even giving us an anchor, life preservers, and a trailer!!! It has sails and everything! We are so excited!!!
Donna! That's amazing! Congrats on the new boat!
I hope you make many wonderful family memories with it!
Hey Maria - I am so proud of you. I don't think I would be brave enough to let Alex out on a boat all by himself. What a neat experience for her!
Donna - yeah for you. I hope that helps cheer your family in this sad time.
I think it's great that you let her go and "spread her sail" so to speak. :) I think it's great when we can let our kids experiance new things that are out of our comfort zone....and theirs. I like the since of adventure it brings.
Donna congratulations on the boat. That's sounds awesome!
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