Bidding the Kids Farewell for the Summer

A coach bus simmered in the morning heat on the skillet of the Syms parking lot in Elmsford on Monday.

Parents loaded duffle bags, backpacks and trunks into the beast's belly for the 50 kids from Scarsdale, Bronxville, White Plains and surrounding communities that would soon be headed towards Chestnut Lake Camp in Pennsylvania.

"I'm looking forward to all the activities and making new friends," said 10 year-old Diana Marie Mendez of White Plains. "I'm not nervous at all."

Mendez has never before been to camp and her father feels somewhat differently.

"I'm actually nervous," Ricardo Menzez, her father, said. "She's never been out of our hands."

This interplay between parents and kids seemed to be the theme of the morning—bright-eyed kids ready to return to the camp they love, or fearless first-timers not at all fazed by the unknown, and tearful parents not quite sure what to do with themselves as premature empty-nesters for the next three or six weeks.

"It will certainly be quieter at home," Menzez said, but his tone made it clear that quiet, in this case, was not necessarily good.

Chestnut Lake has an innovative communication system in which parent can create accounts on their website and send one-way e-mails to their kids. The campers however, barred from replying, are still expected to send home the nostalgic "snail-mail" accounts of their experiences every other day.  

The camp also posts photos and videos of kids daily, which parents can view on the website.

"We live for the photos," Ben Dimolfetta, father of camper David Dimolfetta, said. "He may not get homesick, but we get camp-sick." 

Susan Dimolfetta, David's mom, said that, despite missing her son, she thought sleep-away camp was a great way for kids to build confidence and gain independence. 

"There is no word to describe how much we look forward to hearing from him," Susan said. "But ultimately we think it's a good experience—for both of us."

Parents throughout the county experience this ambivalence, knowing camp can be great for their children's characters, but fearing the separation.

"The first year was definitely difficult for my wife and me," said Alex Cabrero, father of camper Melissa Cabrero.

But Melissa, one of a select group of kids awarded full scholarships through non-profit organization Focus for the Future, has the opportunity to experience activities she might not otherwise be exposed to: tennis, theater, arts-and-crafts activities and a high-ropes challenge course.

"We think the program is fantastic for Melissa," Cabrero said. "The staff and counselors have been awesome."

Paul Schorey, Chestnut Lake's director, says the scholarship program adds incredible depth to the experience their program offers.

"We make a conscious effort to strip away the layers of society kids normally live in," Schorey said. "From the time kids pass through the gates, it doesn't matter who's on scholarship, whose parents run Fortune-500 companies and whose grandparents are paying."

Schorey, who comes from a teaching background, said the best lessons in school are those taught when kids don't realize they're learning. 

Camp, he believes, is like "one giant classroom full of life-lessons."

But, for the kids, it's all fun and games.

"I'm really looking forward to all the activities," 10-year-old Gabby Blume from Scarsdale said. 

Her sister Rachel, 13, added: "And I'm really excited to hang out with all my friends." 

Cabrero, who also has a strong network of camp-friends, actually arranged to meet a few of them in New York City this winter, including one girl who was back in the country visiting from her native Puerto Rico. 

Brothers Juilan and Jareth Powell were accompanied to the bus with their father and grandmother. The boys' mother passed away two years ago, and since then Myrtelena Gutierrez, their maternal grandmother, has assumed much of the Mom role. "I'm here representing their mother," Gutierrez said. "I've been missing them since last week, but they love camp; it has been such a blessing for them."

Though Gutierrez wished her daughter could have seen her sons leave for camp as well, she expressed incredible gratitude that her grandsons had been granted scholarships to go to Chestnut Lake during such a difficult time in their lives.

"They even cook Spanish food for them at camp," Gutierrez said. "Just like I cook for them at home."

As the bus receded from view, parents dropped their violently waving arms and stopped momentarily, bewildered.

"We're going shopping for house-stuff," Melissa Chepuru, a Scarsdale mother of two campers, said in a question-like tone. Then she and her husband sank into their car, confused almost, about what to do next.