Campy
We thought it might be fun to take the kids camping this weekend.
Ahem. We thought it might be fun to take the kids camping this weekend. Just to be clear.
I loved camping when I was a kid. I don't know how often we did it, or even where exactly we went, but the smell of a campfire, the sound of a tent unzipping are such powerful memory triggers for me. I can almost still see myself, maybe sitting in my mom or dad's lap, feeling the heat of the fire on my shins, pulling the charred skin from a melted marshmallow. A big, midnight blue sky above, filled with swaying pines, rustling sounds coming from the brush around the tent site. Me, feeling tired, content... happy just to be outside at night. I remember reading in my baby book an entry my mother had written that mentioned an overnight camping trip when I was two months shy of my first birthday. "We'll make a camper out of her," it read. And indeed they had.
Forever after that if I had an opportunity to camp, I'd take it. When I was fifteen I camped for two weeks with a group of kids from school on a cycling trip from Norfolk, VA to Charleston, SC. Camped somewhere in the middle of the Catskills one winter on a hiking trip the year I lived in NY. Camped again in SC at Myrtle Beach for a week with Ernesto when we first started dating- The first true test of our relationship. And there are countless other times I pitched a tent, just for the sake of doing it. Just for the fun of it.
But getting out of town with your friends or boyfriend for a weekend camping trip is vastly, VASTLY different than camping with your young children. First there's the packing. One night away, and an entire carload of gear is required. And we didn't even bring everything we needed. And the bugs. Oh, the bugs. They eat my poor son alive every time we're outside, so even though we doused him with spray repeatedly, he still got chowed and has got two puffy eyes and is covered with red welts. He looks like he lost a boxing match.
And even though we're outside and the kids are free to run around we can't let them run just anywhere and I heard myself repeating the same commands, "Watch out for the fire, kids! Watch out for the sharp sticks! Watch out for those big rocks!" Sofia is almost as clumsy as I am, so I have to really keep an eye on her. I'm sure I was absolutely no fun at all.
And when things go a little awry and it's just you and some other folks, no big deal. You can handle the little upsets. When you've got your kids, there's no just going with the flow. No just having a few beers and saying, "Eh, so what about the air mattress and who cares we don't have a sleeping bag. Whatever, dude!" Okay, so I probably would never have said, dude.
No, with the kids and something unexpected comes up you are held accountable. You need to explain the situation. Many times.
Lying next to David in the tent, trying to coax him to sleep:
David: What happened to the air mattress, mommy? Why is it all flat?
me: I didn't bring the right plug for it. It was too small and won't stay in.
David: So what happened to all the air?
me: Well, it came out because the plug doesn't fit so it can't hold the air in.
David: Oh. Why didn't you bring the right plug?
me: Because I couldn't find it so I grabbed the one from the pool and I thought it might fit but it didn't.
David: Oh. So why don't I have a sleeping bag?
*sigh*
David: Why are you making that sound, mommy?
And there wasn't much in the way of Ernesto and I just sitting around the fire, talking and enjoying the night. Sofia woke up crying because of some people who were setting off fireworks around the lake so E went in to try and get her back to sleep and I poked at the fire for a while with my beer and felt kind of tired and lonely sitting there by myself. This isn't what I had remembered from my camping days.
Maybe it was the wrong campground for us, or maybe we should have planned better. I don't know how my parents did it with three kids. Maybe they were more organized, more relaxed than us. Who knows.
Or maybe it's like some genes; Once in a while it just skips a generation.
*To read more about our camping misadventures, check out Ernesto's take on this weekend...
Ahem. We thought it might be fun to take the kids camping this weekend. Just to be clear.
I loved camping when I was a kid. I don't know how often we did it, or even where exactly we went, but the smell of a campfire, the sound of a tent unzipping are such powerful memory triggers for me. I can almost still see myself, maybe sitting in my mom or dad's lap, feeling the heat of the fire on my shins, pulling the charred skin from a melted marshmallow. A big, midnight blue sky above, filled with swaying pines, rustling sounds coming from the brush around the tent site. Me, feeling tired, content... happy just to be outside at night. I remember reading in my baby book an entry my mother had written that mentioned an overnight camping trip when I was two months shy of my first birthday. "We'll make a camper out of her," it read. And indeed they had.
Forever after that if I had an opportunity to camp, I'd take it. When I was fifteen I camped for two weeks with a group of kids from school on a cycling trip from Norfolk, VA to Charleston, SC. Camped somewhere in the middle of the Catskills one winter on a hiking trip the year I lived in NY. Camped again in SC at Myrtle Beach for a week with Ernesto when we first started dating- The first true test of our relationship. And there are countless other times I pitched a tent, just for the sake of doing it. Just for the fun of it.
But getting out of town with your friends or boyfriend for a weekend camping trip is vastly, VASTLY different than camping with your young children. First there's the packing. One night away, and an entire carload of gear is required. And we didn't even bring everything we needed. And the bugs. Oh, the bugs. They eat my poor son alive every time we're outside, so even though we doused him with spray repeatedly, he still got chowed and has got two puffy eyes and is covered with red welts. He looks like he lost a boxing match.
And even though we're outside and the kids are free to run around we can't let them run just anywhere and I heard myself repeating the same commands, "Watch out for the fire, kids! Watch out for the sharp sticks! Watch out for those big rocks!" Sofia is almost as clumsy as I am, so I have to really keep an eye on her. I'm sure I was absolutely no fun at all.
And when things go a little awry and it's just you and some other folks, no big deal. You can handle the little upsets. When you've got your kids, there's no just going with the flow. No just having a few beers and saying, "Eh, so what about the air mattress and who cares we don't have a sleeping bag. Whatever, dude!" Okay, so I probably would never have said, dude.
No, with the kids and something unexpected comes up you are held accountable. You need to explain the situation. Many times.
Lying next to David in the tent, trying to coax him to sleep:
David: What happened to the air mattress, mommy? Why is it all flat?
me: I didn't bring the right plug for it. It was too small and won't stay in.
David: So what happened to all the air?
me: Well, it came out because the plug doesn't fit so it can't hold the air in.
David: Oh. Why didn't you bring the right plug?
me: Because I couldn't find it so I grabbed the one from the pool and I thought it might fit but it didn't.
David: Oh. So why don't I have a sleeping bag?
*sigh*
David: Why are you making that sound, mommy?
And there wasn't much in the way of Ernesto and I just sitting around the fire, talking and enjoying the night. Sofia woke up crying because of some people who were setting off fireworks around the lake so E went in to try and get her back to sleep and I poked at the fire for a while with my beer and felt kind of tired and lonely sitting there by myself. This isn't what I had remembered from my camping days.
Maybe it was the wrong campground for us, or maybe we should have planned better. I don't know how my parents did it with three kids. Maybe they were more organized, more relaxed than us. Who knows.
Or maybe it's like some genes; Once in a while it just skips a generation.
*To read more about our camping misadventures, check out Ernesto's take on this weekend...
posted by Kristen @ 1:59 PM
12 Comments:
At 1:49 AM,
Flea said…
AAh, that souns lovely. We are camping people too, no caravan but tents for us too, much more nicer and pure camp. Haven't been with the new bub yet, hoping to do so in our spring. And isn't it amazing how the stars are so much brighter out there?
At 2:28 AM,
Idaho Dad said…
My wife has been talking about going camping for fifteen years. I have successfully avoided the subject all that time. Why? Because when I was a kid, in Boy Scouts, I camped once a month, every month, for about ten years. That's a lot of camping. My fond memories of it are few and far between.
I think I could go RVing though....
At 9:57 AM,
Anonymous said…
We used to camp all the time when I was a kid and we noticed that about every 6th camping trip would be a disaster of "angry squirrels ate all our food" proportions. Maybe this trip was just your unlucky 6th starting early.
But now you have 5 good trips free and clear, right?
At 10:16 AM,
Cat Jordan said…
Thank the Lord that Rob hates to camp, because I have successfully avoided bringing the beasts thus far. I could definately handle Max now around a camp fire and staying close enough so that I could relax with a beer, but Miles... heh heh, Miles. NO WAY do I trust that hellion anywhere NEAR flames, rocks, water. You name it... it would be the complete opposite of fun to me. Really. When Miles is about three or four, then we're cool. Hopefully you enjoyed a little bit of your camping adventure, though!
At 12:09 PM,
Anonymous said…
Camping was never for my family, or me, while I was growing up. So in almost 45 years of marriage and 4 grown children later, my parents never once took us all camping, which is fine by me. I love day hiking, and my friend John is a thru-hiker, and he tried a couple of times to talk me into a full weekend hike, and has since given up! It's not the outdoor aspect; believe me I'm NOT the "princess" type. It's more what you and Ernesto both recently discovered; the massive amounts of organized packing and time required to do so (and the applicable expense.) Nope, not for me...
At 2:09 PM,
Anonymous said…
Oh your poor baby! I feel so bad when stuff like that happens. I hope his bug bites are feeling a little better. The bugs like me too. I sometimes think I'm the only one in my house they like!
A few years ago we went to my grandparents' farm. I hadn't been there since I was around 12 or 13, and I remembered these vast prairies, the huge chicken coop, and the thought that the distance from the house to the barn was miles. Going back as an adult, everything looked smaller, and I spent a lot more time keeping the kids away from farm hazards than anything else. I know exactly what you're talking about - it's not quite the same experience with the kids!
I hope you have a better campout next time, with much less bug bites! My mom's baking soda and water "paste" always worked better than calamine lotion or benadryl spray.
At 8:41 PM,
Kristen said…
I'll have to try the baking soda and water because I know the itch creams I have aren't helping him much...
At 3:19 AM,
Flea said…
...and apparently people who eats lots of garlic don't get bit either, so fill him up before hand...but then...who wants to share his tent?
At 2:14 PM,
M said…
I have a really dumb question. When you went camping, did you get bitten by any ticks? There are tons of ticks down here in New York, and people are afraid of contracting Lyme disease from those little critters.
At 4:57 PM,
Kristen said…
Michael- Nope, no ticks, thankfully. We weren't in any fields with tall grasses or anything like that. Those folks who are concerned about Lyme disease should just use something containing Deet (not for use on kids, I don't think) and that should keep them at bay. Although I've known a couple people who've had Lyme disease and recovered very quickly from it. I think there are far worse illnesses one could get...
At 2:48 AM,
Anonymous said…
I know this is a little late, I've been too busy!!
If you make the baking soda paste add just enough water so it's really thick. Aveeno baths help a little too.
Hope your son is feeling better.
At 7:49 AM,
Kristen said…
Melissa- we actually did end up doing the baking soda paste and I keep it in a little container in the fridge so it's nice and cold when it goes on and good thing too, because David was stung by something outside and was crying and very upset and the second I put that stuff on he stopped crying and said, "oh, it's not so bad, now." It worked so much better than anything I've ever bought. Go figure!
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