Camp, Leo

Last Friday I had the day off from work and so I had the pleasure of doing both camp pick-up and drop-off.

And this is what I heard as I walked from the car to the gymnasium, where campers are signed in:

"Hi Leo!"

"Leo!"

"Hey Leo!"

I felt like a minor celebrity. I must have met fifteen little boys, all eager to say hi to their friend Leo.

Then there were the girls. There were at least nineteen (OK, seven. But they were so enthusiastic it felt like nineteen). Leo was very eager to introduce me to them. Each one, I was told, was his "girlfriend." I was requisitely shocked when I met each one, of course.

This is an inclusive camp, but it is predominantly typical children (Ellie also attended). He does have a "shadow" or "one-to-one" (whom he shared with two other boys), someone who makes sure he's on task and transitioning from activity to activity. But Leo did what all the other kids did at camp: swim, play basketball, go bowling (his first time!), arts and crafts. You know, camp.

I left Leo at camp that day feeling teary (of course!) and happy and just brimming with pride. If a heart can indeed feel full? Mine did. And does. Because this is how I always wanted it to be for Leo, for him to be "one of the guys." And he is.


Fast forward to this week. Leo started another (inclusive) camp.




His first day at camp happened to also be on his birthday, which meant he got to "skip around the room" (see above) which, if you know Leo, you know that is pretty much his dream come true.

The camp has a website that posts pictures throughout the day. So I'm basically getting no work done because I'm constantly checking the site for more pictures.







I think it's fair to say that Leo is having a good summer.

I couldn't ask for more.