The day I've been dreading has finally arrived. My oldest daughter is leaving for the summer to work as a camp counselor. She's working at the same camp that I worked at when I was 16.

"Mom!! I can't find my adidas, HELP ME." Yells Taylor, sounding like she's in a state of emergency.

"Sweetie, they're already in the van, you packed them this morning." I replied.

"Dad! Are you coming? We're leaving in five minutes." Taylor screams in excitement.

Dressed in faded overalls, with her hair pulled up and tied back with a bright yellow ribbon, she looks so grown up -- so mature. I've never been more nervous. What am I going to do without my baby all summer? Who's going to keep my fashion sense in line? Who's going to watch Felicity with me? Ahh! She can't leave me!

"Ya know mom, I'm gonna miss being home this summer, I'll come home during the five week break and I'll call you as much as I can." Taylor looks at me with true sincerity.

Tears are filling my eyes, I can't show her my weakness. I quickly change the subject. There's the sign, "YMCA CAMP WEWA, 5 MILES."

"Jamie, look at this place. Nothing

The dance has ended; my girls have all gone back to the cabin for showers. Jake offered to walk me back to girl's camp.

It's noon, the first set of camper's drive up to the cabin. The butterflies begin to flutter in my stomach. It's my first time being a camp counselor; I can feel my hands begin to shake as I greet the first set of parents. After a five-minute game of eeny-meanie-miney-mo, they've all chosen their beds for the week.

The three of us walk up to the young blonde. She looked so familiar. Where had I seen her before? It was killing me. She begins to introduce herself,

The next morning the sun pries my eyelids open. Flies are circling my head and my shirt is sticking to my skin. Ah, the joys of being a camp counselor. It's Monday morning and time to go swimming.

No one has ever said anything like that to me before. I smile at him, as he leans in and passionately kisses my lips. Just then, time stood still. With his lips pressed to mine, every inch of my body felt warm. It felt so right. I knew he was my soul mate.

My heart melted into his hands at that moment in time. I couldn't help but stare into his gorgeous green eyes. The first song we danced to was "Earth Angel." He had his arms around my waist, as I rested my head on his shoulder. His cheap aftershave smelled better than it should have. We were together, slowly swaying to the music. I could feel his breath on my neck making the small hairs on my neck stand up. We talked and danced the night away. We never seemed to run out of things to say. I had an enduring smile on my face the entire night. I never left Jake's side.

"I'm not joking, whenever you smile, your whole face lights up. You really are beautiful. Let me kiss you? Jake says.

"Welcome to Camp Wewa, I remember most of your smiling faces from last year, but I see many new faces that I hope to meet this week," says our eccentric but admired Camp Director, Greg, as we walk through the main doors of the mess hall. At this point hunger has our stomachs talking for themselves. The night ends with a roaring campfire. We fall sleep quickly from excitement mixed with exhaustion.

"My boys have a bet going around the cabin. They don't be

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hey Jamie, MILES Jamie, Director Greg, Earth Angel, Yells Taylor, Camp Wewa, Felicity Ahh, Jake Married, Thank I'm, Mom I've, mess hall, camp counselor, camp wewa, welcome camp wewa, it's morning, camp director, welcome camp, jamie's boyfriend, taylor screams, witchita boys, five minutes,
Approximate Word count = 1492
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)