Camping with Kids
I have always had a great love and respect for the great outdoors. I was lucky enough to grow up backed up to a Regional Park, in Northern California. So if I wasn’t playing sports or video games, or hanging with friends and family, I would wander around the regional park. HIking on and off trails, just exploring what mother earth had to offer. It was amazing, some of my fondest memories are exploring those hills. I also was involved with the boys scouts growing up, made it eagle scout and all. On top of that my family did multiple camping trips a year, some to the coast, some in the mountains, or the beautiful redwoods and even just in the backyard.
Growing up I always knew I wanted to be a father, and one of things I was most excited to do was camping trips. Car camping, glamping, backpacking; I wanted to do it all with my family. Then I had kids, and realized just how much work it is to go camping with kids. Like many things when you become a parent your idea of how things will go and reality are drastically different. And camping is no different. From the extra gear to the coordinating to make sure that you are as close to a bathroom as you can be. The late night drives to get your baby back to sleep so that you aren't keeping the entire camp ground up was alway a painfully beautiful experience. I have watched many sunrises from a hidden pullout up in the mountains just moments after my child has fallen asleep, and while I soaked in the beauty, praying that they would keep sleeping! Or the glorious moment when the moment you get back from the bathroom, your child then decides to poop their pants, you've only been at the campsite for a total of 20 minutes, and you begin to question is this worth it.
Although it is a lot of hard work, like many things in life, there is a whole lot of fun, laughter, magic and memorable moments. There is nothing like hearing the giggles of joy, wonder and amazement of your children as they discover a new plant, a new fort, a new creek or river and of course some sort of bugs! Watching them explore and begin to push their boundaries and experience nature is such a beautiful moment, while at times, let's be honest it can be terrifying. I love how grounding and rejuvenating being in nature can be for my boys and I. Though we get home from the trips tired from the lack of sleep, dirty from playing in the dirty and smelly from sitting around a campfire, there's always a sense of deep reconnection, with earth and with my kids. Being out in the wilderness, smelling the fresh air, giving my boys the freedom to run and explore makes all the inconveniences worth it.
Something I’ve always thought was interesting was how captivating children are, when there is a baby in the room or toddlers running around they are the center of attention, all eyes are on them. They could be just sleeping, just being held or running around like a complete maniac, regardless everyone gathers and just watches in awe. I’ve realized that I love watching my boys discover the world around them, discover who they are, their likes and dislikes, and how to solve whatever problem is currently facing them. I catch myself living vicariously through them, ( I do my best not to have them live out my missed opportunities which is a trap with in itself, and will be a rant I’m sure I will go on eventually) feeling that excitement for life, the “childlike wonder”, and I realize that by giving them the magic of this world, I get to bring back the magic into my own life, and that is why we gather around the children, they remind us of the joy and the magic that is in this world. I always thought that being a grown up and being a parent meant that I was going to be “old’ but really its the perfect excuse to stay forever young!