They have this?

Sometimes an article can get you thinking. Today there is one in Slate on the merits of sending 6 year olds to 'overnight camp.' Overnight camp is summer camp but where the kids don't come back in the evening. We had this when I was a child and my memories are not fond ones. It appears that fondness in one's own childhood are the main drivers as to whether parents send their own kids to overnight camp.

But I had forgotten there was such a thing and now that the article is there it is strangely alluring. For my birthday this year, we had a night free of the kids. It took my partner three months of planning but through a combination of sleep-overs and a sister-in-law enduring a night without us, we achieved it. Unfortunately, my partner threw her back out before the day but much better to have a sore back when the kids were not around than when they are.

It was nice; for me, just getting up on a Sunday morning, having breakfast and reading the newspaper without obligation was a surprising highlight. When the kids came home and we were asked whether we had a good time, our eldest said "well of course they did, they had got rid of us." Obviously, they feel our love.

Actually, they had a ball and when I count up the damage the only loser was my sister-in-law. A tip of my hat to you!