The 9 Moms You Meet at Sleepaway Camp Drop-Off

For weeks before camp started, this mom was writing notes to her child, sealing them in preaddressed envelopes, carefully mailing them one at a time to make sure that her kid would have a letter from her every single day. She can't wait to get home after drop-off and write another letter to him — or, let's be honest, she'll write it in the car and leave it in the office before heading home — because he's her new pen pal. But let's not even get started on what she's writing about — pool temperatures, pet behavior, the tuna casserole she made for dinner, the plumber coming to fix the bathroom. She's writing novels that will never make it to the bestseller's list!

She calls the office every single day, beginning her streak with multiple calls just minutes after drop-off. She needs to be reassured that her child is eating, that he's changing his underwear every day, and that someone is reminding him to apply sunblock every 90 minutes. Her kid is probably going to get side-eye from the office staff all Summer, but hey, she's a worrier, she can't help it — she means well.

This mom is so happy that her kid is going to be gone for a few weeks. Of course she'll miss her baby, but you would never be able to tell from the way she practically drops her kid at the camp entrance, trying to get out of there as soon as possible. She doesn't have any special requests, she's sure the bunk is just fine — no need for a tour — and while all the other mothers crowd their kids saying tearful goodbyes, she's grinning from ear to ear. You can practically hear her whooping as she jogs (sprints) back to her car. FREEDOM!

This mom's kid has everything she owns labeled — with her own personal label machine, thank you very much — down to her underwear, socks, and flashlight batteries. Thieves be damned! This mom will go batsh*t crazy if your kid takes something that's labeled with her child's name at the end of the Summer!

This mama packs her kid's trunk with every single thing he could ever need — socks, a rain poncho, toilet paper — and so much more that he couldn't possibly find a use for if he tried, like WD-40, a cassette tape, and a fondue set she found in the attic. Her motto? "You never know!"

She wants to live every moment of sleepaway camp vicariously through her child. She's read the camp brochure from cover to cover and attended all of the meetings, so she knows every single thing there is to know about the camp. She tells stories — quoting the words of the brochures — about all of the fun things that her child will do this Summer as if it were her own childhood experience . . . and don't even get her started on the campfire songs!

From the second she steps out of her car, this mom wants to meet every single employee her child will interact with, from the arts-and-crafts coordinator to the dishwasher, just so she knows who everyone is. She stays hand in hand with her (mortified) child in their cabin, avoiding saying goodbye by helping to unpack their clothes and make their bed — that is, until she is literally dragged out by the staff.

Nothing on the "Do Not Bring to Camp" list is too risky for this mom. She carefully hides Pop-Tarts and iPods under t-shirts and activity books in care packages, and when she drops her kid off with his cell phone packed neatly between his shorts and pajamas, she doesn't even bat an eye at the question, "Does your child have anything here that he shouldn't?"

It isn't this mom's first rodeo. She went to this camp as a child and worked her way through high school and college as a counselor. She comes to drop-off in her old staff shirt and begins to rattle off lists of activities, friendship-bracelet patterns, and campfire songs to her kid's counselors and anyone else who will listen. She totally wants to relive her youth through her child and make sure that they have the experiences that she remembers so fondly.