I used to spend the entire summer at summer camp as a camp kid. Camp kids are the children of staff members who have the best of both worlds! An entire summer to spend at summer camp, without any of the restrictions and requirements.

The summer was the absolute pinnacle of happiness. We had horseback riding, swimming in the lake, archery, riflery, arts & crafts, and hours of time to laugh with friends. Though there was plenty of supervision with counselors always nearby, we had enough free time to catch up in groups without adult intervention. Living at the camp for three months was like a preview of a college dorm - without the studying.

Could there be any trace of sadness? Anywhere?

At the end of each week, I would watch kids, dragging suitcases in one hand and hoarding candy in another, hop onto charter buses, - ready to take them back to faraway cities in various states. I could hear the music pumping, the laughter, the stories being told - but worst of all - the "Byeeeeeee!" as they pulled out of the parking lot. One by one, the buses would shuttle my friends away on the last leg of their journey.

Camp kids stay.
Camp kids stare down the road until the only sound that remains is nature. Camp kids feel the change in the air as the joy is sucked away and replaced with exhaust fumes.

In those moments, happiness for the memory and sadness for the reality are a bittersweet battle of emotions. The only anecdote is the hope of another summer, only ten impossibly-long months away.