Brainiac and I have a long-standing agreement to not spend a great deal of money without first discussing the expenditure together. We've never really defined the amount above which "a great deal of money" kicks in, preferring to let the context of the purchases inform the designation. And, even allowing for the time when he bought a new car, telling me after financially committed, this arrangement was worked out beautifully.

Seeing as the Boy Wonder is half-way to turning six, I (rather unilaterally) decided that it would be time for him this summer to enjoy a bit of day camp. I have fond memories of Camp Fire from back in the day when there were Camp Fire Girls instead of the more current Camp Fire Kids and, well, I figured that camp is just one of those things that kids do and that it was time to step up and get with the parenting program. So I located a respected local camp-provider (truthfully, Philly is a summer-camping kind of place and there are literally hundreds of options, not to mention several periodicals and at least two tradeshow-type expos to help parents choose the "right summer camp match") and was delighted to see that they offered both golf and science programs. Golf and science are two of the Boy's current obsessions and after affirming his interest in attending and establishing fees nearing $500 for three weeks of camp I took the matter to Brainiac, in observance of the "great deal of money" clause.

In theory, Brainiac thought camp was a delightful idea. Although he had a couple forays into Boy Scout camp in his youth, camps devoted to specialized interests (as opposed to general cavorting in the woods) are a little beyond his ken and I give him full points for being open to the idea. When I laid the sticker price on him, well, let's just say his enthusiasm dimmed. And although he didn't immediately verbalize it, I am sure that he really, really, wanted to say, "no". But he didn't, and instead listened to my well-reasoned arguments about a lifetime of memories, increasing skill sets, independence and differentiation from parents and on and on. "Fine," he said through gritted teeth, "fine. At least we won't have fees for art class or swim lessons in the summer."

Ahem. Well, then. Do you think now is a good time to tell him or should I wait until the camp check clears?