Nest-Leaving, Part One

We took Duchess to the drop-off site for her camp today. (We insisted she shower before she leave, which is why she looks so damp in these photos.) She had everything on the camp packing list jammed into one bag, which we hope somebody else will carry for her. We checked her in and stood around with her for a while until all the kids piled onto a couple of buses. Duchess met one of her cabin-mates while we were waiting, and on the bus she sat next to her new acquaintance; we could see them chatting in their seat while the other kids got on. Duchess smiled and waved and made silly faces at us, and then the bus drove away. Skipper started wailing. 

When I do my subconscious child inventory (all parents do this, I believe, though I suspect when you have more than four or five kids you might just give up), I keep jolting with mild alarm when my brain can't immediately identify where Duchess is. And I won't hear anything from her until next Saturday, when we retrieve her. That's kind of awesome, and kind of tough on my poor subconscious. Cook and I are both enjoying having only one kid to tend to, and the absence of territorial battles. Skipper, once she recuperated from the initial shock of her sister's departure, quickly got used to being an only child. Tonight, after playing by herself for a while, she said gleefully "I want Duchess to stay away!"

But we really don't.