on Pre-Camper Syndrome

It's ugly. It's unavoidable. It's pre-camper syndrome.
This terrible condition strikes predictably whenever families are preparing to go away together. My kids coined the name years ago when I flipped my lid prior to leaving on a family camping trip. (But it can strike the morning of any family trip, and is not just limited to camping.)
This lid-flipping was, admittedly, a regular thing.
But in my defense, I had good reason!
Here's a generalized scenario:
The parents plan a trip with the kids, anticipating showing them the wonders of something or other. There's plenty of advance notice. Some of the kids are old enough to take care of little details such as doing their trip-laundry, packing their bags, covering their paper routes, finding a place for their pet turtle to spend the week, all on their own.
Believing that they will do so is a common error many parents make, and a leading cause of pre-camper syndrome. I remain hopeful, and never, never learn.
Weekly, and then daily prior to the big trip, reminders are given by the parents. A month to go! Is your paper route covered?
A week to go! Do you know what you're packing?
Two days to go! Is your laundry done? Have you dropped the turtle off at your friend's? Does your bathing suit still fit?
We leave in the morning, 7 a.m. sharp! Are you all packed? Put your bags by the door.
Kids! Get up! You have plenty of time for breakfast and a shower. We hit the road in two hours.
Kids! Get UP! I've made toast. If you hurry you can still shower. Put your bags in the car, please. We leave in an hour.
KIDS! ARE YOU STILL IN BED? It's time to GO! Where are you BAGS? We're paying for this trip, and you're making us miss it!
The kids, feeling abused, reveal that they have not done laundry, can't find their bathing suit or tooth brush, forgot to drop off the turtle or cover the paper route, promised the neighbor they'd babysit tonight, and don't want to go on a stupid vacation with the family anyway. Can they stay at their friend's with the turtle?
This is when mom and dad flip their lids. After all, they've spent a couple grand, taken time off work, and spent hours preparing for a 7 a.m. departure, at the expense of a good night's sleep. Which makes them . . . cranky.
"@!%&**!!!," Dad says as he stomps around the house, pulling out his remaining hair.
Mom isn't much better.
"Get. UP! NOW!" she grits between her teeth.

Two hours later, bags are haphazardly packed and stowed in the car. The turtle is at the friends, the babysitting job and paper route are covered. They hope. And the snarly kids are stuffed into the vehicle, not speaking to anybody, all listening to separate i Pods.
Mom and Dad are crabby. They're practicing breathing exercises to calm them down while cranking out old Doobie Brothers tunes on the car's CD player.
A kid in the back glances cautiously up front before leaning over to whisper to his sibling: "See? They always get pre-camper syndrome. It never fails! And I have no idea why!"