We Sent the Kids to Summer Camp and Somehow Got More Work

School’s out for summer, as the song goes, but the minute the calendar flips to July, I take a deep breath and brace myself for the logistics ahead.

Because, yes, parents get to gleefully fist-pump the air after months of reminding our kids to do their homework, get to bed at a reasonable hour and find that missing library book. But for those of us with kids heading to summer camp, that temporary freedom is quickly replaced by work that can feel more taxing than the day-to-day routine of the school year: the mental load of summer camp.

In theory, summer camp is pure joy. Looking at my own son’s schedule, I see a week of soccer camp, a week of arts and sculpture camp and a few weeks at the local zoo. Pretty idyllic stuff.

But the devil is in the details—and, more specifically, the variety. Barring the chaos of Maycember, the color-coded summer calendar I maintain is far more complicated than anything I create during the predictable rhythm of the school year.

It’s not just the changing locations. It’s the medical forms that have to be completed and submitted. The daily sunscreen applications. The name labels affixed to every. single. item. There are portal logins to remember (because every camp seems to use a different platform), swimsuits and towels to wash nonstop, and theme days to prepare for. Crazy Hat Day, but make it sun-safe? Sure.

My kitchen table transforms from a place where we gather for family dinners into a rotating command center of camp-related necessities. If I can see the outfit changes, swim goggles, water bottles and pickup forms laid out in front of me, I have a fighting chance of staying organized. (And, for the record, I'm only talking about day camp. Parents preparing for sleepaway camp deserve their own gold stars.)

All of this is to say that what is supposed to be a childcare solution quickly morphs into something else entirely: a seasonal project-management job layered on top of the one parents already have. We’re trying to keep our kids engaged, enriched and happily occupied while also managing work, household responsibilities and the small matter of paying the bills.

Of course, I’ll rise to the occasion. I always do! Parents are remarkably good at absorbing invisible labor and making it look effortless—even fun. But every summer, as I shuffle forms, sort camp T-shirts, and restock sunscreen I’m reminded that even the most carefree season of the year can be quite the behind-the-scenes production.