As good as it gets

I'm persnickety about camp. I was dissatisfied with the local day camp options for our son, so signed him up for Adventure Week at Red Oak Camp, an hour's drive from our home, and a place for which I have extremely fond memories.

My spouse was certain I had romanticized my camp experience. It just couldn't have been that fun. My vision proved clear. Our son had five days jam-packed with swimming, kayaking, fishing, archery, wood shop. He finished the challenge course, complete with a zip line. He learned to play a Native American game called Double Ball. By day two he was insisting we send him for the whole summer next year. But it's a long drive to tackle for seven weeks straight. So we have to figure out how to manage and it might involve me and our daughter pitching in at the girls' camp. Not a bad way to spend the summer.

Ding dong the bully's gone

Our son was bullied throughout first grade -- teased, verbally abused, sucker punched... So it was with relief that we learned the perpetrator was leaving for a different school. Many other parents said they hoped he'd find a soft place to land. Me? I'm not that charitable (it's my son who was the target). I say "don't let the door hit you on the way out." Or do.