Do Less

You know the ubiquitous Nike slogan, Just Do It? My new motto, especially when it comes to the kids, is Do Less.

We're gearing up to send our elder daughter to sleepaway camp (eek!) and there's lots to do. New camper meetups, new items to procure, new duffels to pack. At a recent gathering with some campers and moms, the grownups chatted about camp stuff. As in all the crap we're sending along with the uniforms. Candy for the bus ride, extra spirit gear, special pillows, Sticker Bean books, etc., etc.. I had to pipe up. Can we all do less, I implored? The packing list is already extensive. Why are we saddling our kids with extra things?

The magic of camp is in the doing, the being. But of course if my daughter doesn't bring a "boyfriend pillow" she might feel left out. Which, I pointed out, is character building! But also, can we all do less? Pretty please?

Do Less,
AES

P.S. Do you get the Paul Rudd in Forgetting Sarah Marshall reference? :)