What kind of monsters have we Created?

I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record, but once again, I have little time to devote to blogging today. I think it is just the nature of summer, being so much busier than other times of the year but the truth is, I miss writing if I don't. So I figure a short little blog is better than no blog at all. What, you may ask is so pressing that I feel compelled to spew a little? Well, this is just one of the myriad of thoughts swirling around in my brain this morning. Emma is off to camp tomorrow. That of course means that today is devoted to preparing and packing for her two week adventure. I am pretty experienced at this by now, since this is her sixth summer of heading off into the wild blue yonder. Normally I am extremely organized, but this year, because I have been busy and have rested on my laurels a bit thinking I could just throw it all together in a couple of hours, I'm starting to panic a little. Suffice to say, it's going to be a long day. The other aspect of this whole lead up time to camp is I (and other mothers I know as well) have created a bit of a monster with our girls. It used to be that a kid could just show up at camp with clean hair and a knapsack full of clean clothes (proving to the counsellors, they actually were clean from whence they came) and spend the next two weeks getting grubbier and grubbier with each passing day. That was in the early years. Once the girls reached a certain age, things began to change. It started with the first minor showing of leg hair. Two years ago, Emma asked if she could have a leg wax before camp, so she wouldn't have to worry about shaving her legs while she was there. At that time, she wasn't too skillful at this ritual, so I agreed it might be a good idea. The next year, it was a pre-camp mani-pedi request. Heaven forbid my precious progeny should show up at camp with unpainted toe nails. Again I acquiesced. Her toes did look better with a bit of polish and she sees mom doing it all the time - how could I refuse? At the end of the two weeks, the toes still looked OK but the manicure had deteriorated into grotesque bits of black specks and I told myself - next year, no manicure. Best to keep them clean looking. Which brings us to this year. Yesterday, I shuffled her to her waxing appointment, her pedicure appointment and then topped it all off with a 1 hour massage appointment, lest she feel the least little amount of pre-camp stress. As I sat in the car waiting for her to flit from one spa treatment to the next, I couldn't help but wonder - what the hell are we all thinking? As I sat in the waiting room at the nail salon, I bumped into two other girls Emma's age undergoing the same treatments in preparation for camp. At least I'm not the only crazy mother in this hood, I thought. And now for the rant. I never had a professional pedicure until I was 25. I have never had a leg wax, period. (I am skillful at shaving) As for the massage, it was sometime in my early thirties, unless you count feeble attempts by past boyfriends and husbands, which I don't think counts. What expectations have we created in our children? Emma sees all these treatments as part of life. Doesn't everyone do this? Well, honey, no everyone doesn't do this. Most of the world is lucky to have one meal a day, never mind pampering at the spa on a regular basis. It's great that your father and I have the where-with-all to give you these things, but remember kiddo, one day it will be coming out of your own pocket. We hope.