Thoughts on camping with 3 kids
My husband LOVES camping. He loves being outside, pitching tents, sleeping in a bag, making fires, listening to the birds. He loves it so much he doesn't mind the hardness-of-mattress, the lack-of-sleep, the inconvenience-of-dishes, the pitching-a-shelter-just-to-take-it-down-the-next-day.
And I LOVE how relaxed and happy Jeremy is when he's camping. And therefore, I have come to love camping too.
But camping with three kids 5 and under is a whole different animal. It is altogether wilder, hungrier, more tiring. But even with the exponentially higher workload involved in camping with 5 of us, it is still worth it - because the kids LOVE camping. And I love how much they love it. And therefore, I now love camping even more.
As with many of life's experiences though, they key to joy is to set realistic expectations. So let me share just a few expectations I've had to dial down from "swiss family robinson" level to "real life grit" level.
1. Embrace the dirt.
You might as well. The kids sure are. And actually, I think grubby toes are kind of cute.
2. There will be creatures.
This weekend we saw eagles, water snakes, bugs of a zillion varieties, and Callum found a dead lizard which he brought to me in the tent like a cat with its trophy prey. I wish I had been cooler about it and affirmed his creative spirit. Instead I screamed like a banshee and banished him from the tent.
But then I tried to make good on my maternal uncoolness by asking to take a picture of him with his prize dead lizard.
3. There will not be a lot of sleep.
Do not let this picture deceive you. Bedtimes in a tent are just too darn exciting. My champion husband must have rocked Declan to sleep at least 30 times that weekend. And so, when we did happen upon a moment when all three were sleeping at the same time - we took a picture.
But sleep deprivation aside, it was worth it.
4. There will be whining.
Especially if you throw hiking into the camping mix. our kids whined pretty much continually for all 3 1/2 hours of the 2 1/2 mile hike we took (yes, folks. You read that right.) it was too hot. their legs were tired. it was uphill. they needed a drink. they wanted to go home. And we told stories, encouraged, bird-spotted, frog-marched and courage-mustered them up every hill. And still they whined. But at the end of it all, they declared it the best part of their day. This left us feeling both confused and vindicated.
Again, totally worth it.
5. There will be fun.
Oh my goodness. What fun. What fun to ride bikes in a new adventure zone. What fun to make friends with the kids from the campsite next door. What fun to see the stars. What fun to roast marshmallows. What fun to have new obstacles, new joys, new sticks to find, new hills to conquer. What fun to be allowed to be so dirty for 2 days.
So much fun.
And so even though it took 48 hours to pack and 48 hours to unpack, all for 36 hours at the campsite - it was still completely worth it. Did I mention I now love camping???
And I LOVE how relaxed and happy Jeremy is when he's camping. And therefore, I have come to love camping too.
But camping with three kids 5 and under is a whole different animal. It is altogether wilder, hungrier, more tiring. But even with the exponentially higher workload involved in camping with 5 of us, it is still worth it - because the kids LOVE camping. And I love how much they love it. And therefore, I now love camping even more.
As with many of life's experiences though, they key to joy is to set realistic expectations. So let me share just a few expectations I've had to dial down from "swiss family robinson" level to "real life grit" level.
1. Embrace the dirt.
You might as well. The kids sure are. And actually, I think grubby toes are kind of cute.
2. There will be creatures.
This weekend we saw eagles, water snakes, bugs of a zillion varieties, and Callum found a dead lizard which he brought to me in the tent like a cat with its trophy prey. I wish I had been cooler about it and affirmed his creative spirit. Instead I screamed like a banshee and banished him from the tent.
But then I tried to make good on my maternal uncoolness by asking to take a picture of him with his prize dead lizard.
3. There will not be a lot of sleep.
Do not let this picture deceive you. Bedtimes in a tent are just too darn exciting. My champion husband must have rocked Declan to sleep at least 30 times that weekend. And so, when we did happen upon a moment when all three were sleeping at the same time - we took a picture.
But sleep deprivation aside, it was worth it.
4. There will be whining.
Especially if you throw hiking into the camping mix. our kids whined pretty much continually for all 3 1/2 hours of the 2 1/2 mile hike we took (yes, folks. You read that right.) it was too hot. their legs were tired. it was uphill. they needed a drink. they wanted to go home. And we told stories, encouraged, bird-spotted, frog-marched and courage-mustered them up every hill. And still they whined. But at the end of it all, they declared it the best part of their day. This left us feeling both confused and vindicated.
Again, totally worth it.
5. There will be fun.
Oh my goodness. What fun. What fun to ride bikes in a new adventure zone. What fun to make friends with the kids from the campsite next door. What fun to see the stars. What fun to roast marshmallows. What fun to have new obstacles, new joys, new sticks to find, new hills to conquer. What fun to be allowed to be so dirty for 2 days.
And so even though it took 48 hours to pack and 48 hours to unpack, all for 36 hours at the campsite - it was still completely worth it. Did I mention I now love camping???
posted by Bronwyn at 5:28 pm
1 Comments:
Good for you guys!! We have had little success with camping as well, but like you, I am always glad we did it and I still want to go back for more :) Cute pictures- especially of Declan in that chair and of the kids sleeping...adorable!
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