1. He’s too young.
2. We can’t afford it.
3. Don’t you have to be Jewish?
4. He won’t even do a sleepover!
5. He’s not good without us for too long.

These are all valid concerns, if they’re valid. In other words, if any of those concerns do apply, it’s only fair to ask yourself:

Is your reasoning purely about your kid, or is it a little bit about you too?

1. He’s Too Young: Sending your kid to overnight camp isn’t about age, it’s about readiness. But if he’s real young, and on the fence, don’t push it. Send him next year. Better to wait so he leaves wanting more, than to have to fight him to go back. The first year my husband went to camp, he was 6 years old. His parents came to get him on visiting day, but they went home without him. Not all kids are ready that young though. If you know that camp is in your child’s future, opening a dialogue about it early is definitely the way to go. Hype that s**t up! That way the kid is part of the excitement surrounding camp, and on board when the time comes.

2. We Can’t Afford It: I don’t usually mess with this one because if my husband wasn’t one of the directors at our camp, we probably couldn’t afford it either! Camp isn’t cheap. But it’s not cheap for a reason. There are a lot of costs that go into operating a quality summer camp program. Thankfully, there are tons of camps, and each one of them offers something different with different price points. There is bound to be a camp that fits the needs of your child with a payment plan that follows suit. Many even offer scholarship opportunities! And believe me, if my kids weren’t already part of a camp and we were flat-broke, I’d still find a way to send them. BUH BYE!

3. Don’t You Have To Be Jewish? To be fair, I may be the only person who gets this question. For some reason, people who aren’t Jewish seem to think our camp is only for Jewish kids (It’s not.) Overnight camp does seem to be associated with Jewish kids though. Not only has it been portrayed like that in books and movies, but a lot of us (Jews) grew up with camp in our lives. For many of us, myself included, overnight camp wasn’t an option, it was an priority: “You’re going to camp. I don’t know where yet, but you’re going.” Our parents figured out a way to get us there—if not just for us, for them too. (When I went, I don’t even know if I was fully packed before my mom was like: “LATER!”) There are all kinds of camps out there. You absolutely don’t have to be Jewish to go to camp. You just have to be a kid.

4. He won’t even do a sleepover: If this is your concern, it’s a good one—and it’s probably a good idea to address it at some point. Getting out of one’s comfort zone is something every kid learns at overnight camp, but even if he never goes, a sleepover at some point is a must unless you want your kid attending college, on-line, at your house. Plus, sleepovers are fun.

5. He’s not good without us for too long: To me, that’s the kid who needs camp the most. He may have a hard time at first, but he will cave. Something will click and he’ll realize that he’s having fun. He’s meeting new friends (many who he will have FOR LIFE), learning new things, and growing up. And he will be home before you know it. …And then, 10 minutes later, when he’s banging on your kitchen table screaming mess hall cheers and telling you to “Freeze!” or you’re “The Hopper” for that meal, you’ll either wish you could send him back, or that you could go too.

But I didn’t.

What I did do was step up our walks, and on those walks I have learned some things. Here are 10 of them:

1. Nothing will humble you more than scooping up and carrying around a bag of dog s**t. I don’t care how cool you think you are, it’s hard to be “The s**t” when you’re walking around carrying a bag of it.

2. Don’t rush to judgment. There’s a dog in our hood that is mean. I’m sorry, but he is. I assumed when I approached him that he’d be nice like all the other Golden Retrievers I have known, but NO, he wasn’t. Bruno has the opposite problem. Most people are scared to approach Bruno, and some have admitted that it’s because he’s big and black. Racists!!

3. Slow down. The walk I take with Bruno may be the biggest part of his day, but I’ve got s**t to do. We need to keep moving. Sometimes, though, Bruno likes to slow down and take things in. That’s how he rolls, and I am trying to do the same.

4. Fresh Air is good. (I feel like that one is pretty self explanatory.)

5. Don’t get The Lazies around The Crazies. Keep walking. There’s this one dog who barks NON-STOP when we go by. We call her Felicia. Felicia is nuts. Felicia wants Bruno to stop and hang with her so badly, but Felicia needs to work on her approach. Until then…

6. Let your freak flag fly. Bruno loves the ladies. Izzy is his love but he also has a side piece: Roxy. (We call her Foxy Roxy.) I have no doubt that the ladies know about each other because A) they can smell it on him and B) women know. But Bruno isn’t a one woman kind of guy. Bruno is a ramblin’ man and he doesn’t apologize for it.

7. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree. There’s this lady who walks her dogs every morning in her pajamas with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. She never says anything to us, just yells at her dogs—and I swear on everything in this world that is holy to me that if her little yippie ass dogs were people, they would be exactly like her.

8. Just because someone can’t communicate to you they’re in pain, doesn’t mean they aren’t. Yesterday, Bruno kept stopping on our walk. I was all “Come on, Mr. 10 lbs!” until I realized that he had something caught in his paw. I felt bad. Not everyone can articulate the pain they’re in, and sometimes it’s up to us to notice the signs.

9. If some Mind F**k is messing with your head and they can’t decide if they’re in or out, decide for them. There’s this one dog who loves Bruno, but she keeps teasing him. She’ll bark for him to come near her and then when he does, she bails. She did this 3 times the other day and finally Bruno was like, Later, sister. Get back to me when you get your act together. We outtie.

10. Don’t overstay your welcome. When we visit with other dogs, we try not to hang too long or they might not want us back. Bruno likes to leave them wanting more. And so do I.

Happy Walking!