Summer is here..cue the sunshine, later bedtimes, and the absence of early alarms. My kids are ecstatic. Shoes are optional, popsicles are a food group (“because it’s hot”), and the pool is practically a weekend requirement.
But if you’re a working Jewish mom like me, with a 7 and 9 year old, summer isn’t exactly a vacation.
It’s a full-time job, part-time chaos, and an unpaid internship with Uber. There’s also the pressure (spoken or unspoken) to do what “all the other Jewish kids” are doing, whether that’s heading to day camp or prepping for their future role in Color War.
Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE summer. But for working parents with young kids, it’s not all poolside cocktails and relaxation. It’s color-coded calendars, daily logistical negotiations, and stitching together enough camp and childcare coverage to keep your job and sanity intact.
Camp is a gift and a jigsaw puzzle all wrapped in one.
There’s day camp, sleepaway camp, gymnastics camp, art camp, zoo camp… and the Jewish versions of each. (Yes, we avoid the ones run out of day schools, they feel suspiciously like school in the summer.)
Each camp has its own schedule, packing list, drop-off time, pickup time, and allergy policy. The paperwork is next level. Some need packed lunches, others require ten signed waivers, mailed four months in advance (by hand, not digitally), because it’s 2025 and stamps are apparently still a thing. If you’re in Cincinnati, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Eventually, you find a camp they love enough to stick with for more than five minutes, but it never fills the whole summer.
And then there’s transportation.
Some camps start at 8:30, others at 9:00, leaving me playing calendar Tetris to make sure I can be in two places at once.
Standing in work clothes in 90-degree heat while they wait for the camp bus is a real treat. By the time I’ve dropped them off, answered a few emails, and inhaled a granola bar, it’s 9:15 a.m., and I already feel like I’ve worked a full day.
Did I mention I woke up before sunrise to get a workout in as well?
The author’s daughters. (courtesy)
This summer, my 9-year-old is heading to Jewish sleepaway camp for the first time.
My husband’s only requirement was that it had to be Jewish (though let’s be honest 95% of the sleepaway camps we looked at basically were). Mine was that it had to be under an eight-hour drive and not packed with the entire Cincinnati Jewish community. I wanted her to experience a little independence, and maybe even meet kids from other cities.
Sleepaway camp brought its own brand of chaos. Packing and ordering happened during “Maycember”, that glorious time when school plays, class parties, and end-of-year madness all collide. Then there’s the emotional side: I’ve never been away from her for more than two nights. Two weeks feels enormous. My Type A, slightly neurotic Jewish mom brain is still spiraling.
And when she returns? I already know our sweet little local art camp won’t hold a candle to sleepaway’s ruach, Shabbat by the lake, and endless singing of Jewish camp songs.
Even in the chaos, I try to keep a bit of structure.
I’m one of those moms who insist on reading time and a little academic work over the summer, not because I want to be that mom, but because I know how hard it is to bounce back in August.
I want them to run wild and make summer memories, but I also want them to still remember how to write their names when school starts.
Summer is a season of contradictions.
The lack of structure is both liberating and exhausting. My girls have more freedom, but for me, that freedom means more planning, more driving, and the constant dance between career and motherhood.
And yet, when they come home dirty, tired, giggling, covered in mosquito bites and paint, telling stories of new friends and silly camp traditions, I know I am doing just fine.
Here’s to the moms, especially the Jewish ones, who try to keep summer organized and carefree. We may not be lounging poolside, but we’re giving our kids a season of joy, community, and sunscreen-soaked memories. And maybe, just maybe, making a few of our own, too.
Thanks for sharing this piece! I’m not sure where you got the impression that the camps run out of day schools are “suspiciously like school.” At Rockwern Academy, Cincinnati’s Jewish Community Day School, we have camp exclusively for 12 months old through children entering pre-k. (The school goes through eighth grade only during the school year). Our camp is play-based with lots of fun activities (including tons of water play). While it has some advantages of being housed in a day school building, it is different from the school year in so many ways. We’d be happy to share more information with you or anyone else who is interested!