“So, lacrosse camps this summer?” a parent asked me last spring.
It was the kind of question I had answered many times before. For years, summer meant another opportunity for my daughter to grow as an athlete, student, and leader.
This year, my answer surprised another sports parent — and me.
“She’s taking a break from lacrosse,” I said. “I signed her up for a self-care camp,” I replied.
Now that she’s done, I can honestly say it’s one of the best parenting decisions I’ve made.
Summers have been busy
For much of my daughter’s childhood, I believed every opportunity was a chance to move forward. She played high-level competitive lacrosse, earning a spot on the A team of a nationally competitive club. I became the parent constantly refreshing my inbox to make sure I didn’t miss an opportunity to secure spots in competitive training camps. Family vacations were scheduled around tournaments.
Sports were only the beginning. At her academically rigorous school, she excelled in coursework above her grade level. She created award-winning short films with her sister and produced an environmental film festival with assistance from the Jane Goodall Institute Roots and Shoots program and our local arts council, the Maryland Children’s Environmental Film Festival.
I was proud of her curiosity, creativity, and drive. However, sometimes between elementary and middle school, summer stopped feeling like an open season of exploration when a tent would go up in the backyard, fireflies circling under the starry skies.
She needed something different
Wellness camp brought summer back to a season of simplicity. No rankings. No competition. For $325 plus a $50 optional self-care kit, she spent one week, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. daily, learning to care for herself — inside and out — at The Pearl, a local day spa in Maryland near where we live.
Instead of back-to-back activities, my daughter spent her week enjoying relaxing experiences, including aerial yoga, chocolate meditation, a sound bath, and other activities designed simply to help her become more present.
Courtesy of Theresa Pickett.
At pick-up, she seemed more grounded. She shared the excitement of learning poses mid-air during aerial yoga. After a day of facials and make-your-own smoothies, her natural skin glowed radiantly.
In the crystal salt room, she experienced halotherapy. Later, she said not much happened in this room. I felt surprisingly happy to hear she had spent much of her day doing almost nothing.
Then there were the healing waters, a large room featuring multiple types of hydrotherapy. On the final day of camp, my daughter — who had been uninterested in visiting the pool all summer — fully embraced this.
The eucalyptus steam bath and cold plunge were claimed to benefit athletes by improving circulation and accelerating recovery. I can’t trace the exact results, but she developed strategies to care for herself. Athlete or not, self-care matters.
Then the group ended the week with a floating sound bath experience.
Courtesy of Theresa Pickett.
She learned new skills
Instead of spending her summer days at a rigorous athletic camp, my daughter was learning to care for herself holistically — mind, body, and soul.
Walking out of camp, as the water sparkled off the nearby Lake Kittamaqundi, I watched my daughter pause at the playground. She wasn’t rushing to the next activity. She wasn’t trying to prove anything. She was simply in the moment, existing under the sun. Quietly, she shared the moment with me.
For years, I thought my role as a parent was to help my daughter get ahead. I’m beginning to understand that it’s also my job to help her discover who she is when she isn’t trying to achieve anything.
The most valuable thing she gained from the wellness camp wasn’t something she could list on college applications. It was the ability to just be.
This article is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your qualified physician or healthcare provider.
