Summer Family Fun
June 03, 2015
Posted By: Shaunescy
Written by, LEIGH RIPLEY
When our firstborn was 2-years-old, we took her camping. I had no idea what I was in for at the time, I mean, how hard could camping with a toddler be? The answer: harder than you think. She got covered in sap, ate pinecones, continually wandered down to the lake, treated the tent like her own personal bouncy house and just got downright filthy. And she loved it.
Apparently this excursion stuck with her, because the next summer – when I was very, very pregnant with number two – she decided to play camping in the yard with my husband working close by in his shop.
Emma made a tent-like structure with sticks and blankets, commandeered a cooler from the garage and loaded it with water bottles and snacks and built a fire pit. Every few minutes she would wander over to the shop and beg?dad to play camping with her. As most parents often are, he was distracted by the work he was trying to accomplish and just kept waving her off with a smile.
“If you don’t play camping with me, I’m just going to have to play the sad little girl who sits in the sun.”
“If you don’t play camping with me, I’m just going to have to play the sad little girl who sits in the sun.”
Having not received the attention she felt she deserved, she firmly announced to him, “If you don’t play camping with me, I’m just going to have to play the sad little girl who sits in the sun.”
Needless to say, he abandoned his work and played camping.
Looking back on it, Emma was onto something. Life does pull us in 20 different directions, and putting everything down for 15 minutes of play often seems impossible.
Camping has become a summer lifestyle for us, and I have to thank Emma for that. While my husband and I giggled at the “sad little girl who sits in the sun” comment, the gravity of this 3-year-old’s words hit home with us. We needed to carve out time to spend together.
Camping, depending on where you go, generally means you have to unplug. I have found that – without e-mail, phones or text messages – we have no choice but to really focus on each other. And, as crazy as it seems, the kids generally get along better too. With no toys or electronic distractions, they are forced to use their imagination and play with each other. They also really love getting dirty and not showering for three days; the s’mores help too.
I’m not saying that camping is easy. Please; prepping a family of five for three nights under the stars is like packing for the apocalypse. Unpacking is worse, like cleaning up after the apocalypse. But to my camping-loving family and me, it’s worth every bit of hassle.
Kids are not ornaments; they are little people we are helping to shape everyday and, during the treasured days of summer, I like to explore Montana – unplugged from the world and totally and completely dialed into my kids.
