“I wanna go camping, yeah…”

So we’re going camping this afternoon.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering what woman with an ounce of sanity would take three children, ages 6, 4 and an unfortunate 20 months, camping. Frankly, I’ve been asking myself the same question all morning.

Because for mothers, camping is not fun. Camping is dirt and smoke and cooking without a real stove and without running water and without a bathroom that’s close/comfortable/clean and OH MY GOSH WHAT AM I DOING???

The fact of the matter is this. My son wants to go camping. So desperately, in fact, that he’s written a song about it. I taught him one chord on the Ukelale and he’s become a little broken record that wanders around, strumming and singing,

“I want to go camping now, I want to go camping now! Camping Camping Camping Camping, I wanna go camping now! Maybe tomorrow or maybe the next day or maybe the next time, yeah…” and on and on and on.

In fact, at our Valentine family reunion this summer, he delighted the audience with this little diddy. By the end of it, people were looking at Jason and me like we were some kind of deranged prison guards, keeping our poor kid from the woods and all that nature.

And so, the truck is loaded and the kids are prepped and I’m steeling myself for a weekend of miserable toddler supervisation. We’ve got the pen and we’ve got the marshmallows–I’m just hoping she doesn’t find out about the lake.

*Check out this cute camping website…Http://www.picturecamping.com


Comments

  1. The thought of loosing my 22 month old in nature, even with 2 to 1 adult supervision, gives me hives.

  2. Chill out and have fun! I grew up camping, in the dirt, with the lakes, the “Shasta Cherry Coke” smelling outhouses, bugs, more dirt and FUN! FUN! FUN! These are some of my BEST family memories. Enjoy it! Nature is FANTASTIC! Let the kids get dirty, dirty, dirty! It’s great! Go fishing. Go hiking. Explore. You’ll love it! So again, relax, chill out and be at peace all will be well.

  3. Or-your husband could go with the boys and you could stay home with June?

  4. Ya, we talk about going camping all the time. Just talk. That’s all. Sometimes we buy things like tents, sleeping bags, portable propane stoves. And then we sit around and talk about great places to go camping. While we roast s’mores in the back yard. And talk. We talk about what great memories it would make for our kids to take them camping. We talk so much about this. Talking about it is great.
    Talk. Talk. Talk.

    (P.S. we have never actually gone camping. Shh. I don’t want my husband to realize that. We just have so much fun talking about it)

  5. Can’t you go camping at The Grand America?

  6. Been there, done that, left around 9pm to come home one time. Toddler, dirt, mess, no thanks. Camping is now for no girls allowed in our family. Including Mom!

  7. FWIW, camping will get fun in about, oh, ten years, when the kids are all potty trained and you aren’t afraid of them falling into the fire pit, the river, and you can sit in the camping chair while they run around or roast their OWN marshmallows.

  8. This is exactly my attitude about camping. Exactly. Only you’ve given in and are going. At my house, we call camping “special Dad time”. I’m not sure what we call “special Mom time”, but I do know it would most certainly involve indoor plumbing. Have fun!

  9. I’ve wanted to go camping so badly but I haven’t been pushing it because I think subconsciously I know that mothers have a different experience then the rest of the family. The last time I went camping we had 1 kid and it was a blast. We’re considering it, in the next few weeks….hmmm

    I hope you have a great time!!!

  10. Hi. I have a blog at http://www.picturecamping.com where I feature people’s posts about camping, and I would like to send my readers your way. Of course I would give you credit for quotes and would link back to your site.

    Thanks for considering this,

    Jean B. in SC

  11. Crazy, but what a great Mom! Can’t wait to hear all about it!

  12. I love the marshmallows, I could eat the whole bag myself. But I’d leave the kids at home, only because they’d eat all the marshmallows and I’m not up for sharing.

  13. I feel like allowing dirt to get all over my pants by accident from a short play date outside…is roughing it enough for me. See this is why man inventing small indoor tents was a genius in my eyes. You’re a way better Mom than me. Mind you my son is two and he hasn’t figured out what camping is yet. I may someday have to give in….but I’ve been known to sneak out in the middle of the night while camping…leave the tent and go home and sleep and come back in the morning. True story.

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