Nicolas has been enjoying a special treat this summer: a day camp that’s run by the Chicago Parks Department. Each weekday they have lots of fun activities planned. Nic has had the chance to go bowling (for the first time in his life!), swimming (three times a week!), and he’s gone on some other field trips, too. They’ve done art projects together, made tie-dyed t-shirts, and played lots of active games. Every day he has an absolute blast.
One activity they had planned involved a gift exchange. If someone wanted to participate, they simply bought an inexpensive gift for another boy their age and put it in a grab bag for another camper to draw randomly.
Nic bought a small Nerf gun to put in the exchange and he came away with a Slip ‘n Slide water game. He was happy.
When he was telling me what the other gifts were, however, he said in his “I’m-an-eleven-year-old-boy-and-I’m-incredulous” kind of way:
“And, Dad: guess what?”
“What?”
“Someone brought something that wasn’t even a toy! Can you believe that?”
“What was it?”
“It was a backpack! Can you believe it?”
I wondered if he thought that was a good thing or a bad thing, so I just said: “Huh.” Then, I figured out what he thought about it as he spoke his next words.
“Yeah. We were all, like, ‘a backpack’? Really? Wow.”
Oh, the trials of prê-teen gift-giving. I felt sorry for that poor boy who brought a backpack. What a schmuck.
*roll eyes back in head now and sigh heavily*
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