Camping with the kids - why bother?

Everything we do, as a family, is a ton of work.  Four kids ages 10 thru 5 months do not make moving around simple.  All parents know how a baby can make it tough to go at a moment's notice (coordinating baby's schedule, packing the diaper bag...did you remember the bjorn??), but the older kids require preparation as well.  You can't just tell a group of people, "Lets go NOW" and not expect some resistance.  People have their own ideas about the day, after all.  Plus, a surprise outing may require an outfit change (Ms. 7-year-old, I'm looking at you!)

So, given this, you might question my commitment to take our kids camping.  Even our beloved camping companions said to me on our recent trip, "I'm glad you guys are here but honestly I think you are a little nuts!" So whats the payoff?

Well for me the payoff has three main components.  The first is my husband.  He works in business, in an office, and has for years.  But he started as a field-geologist, and before that was a naturalist at heart.  He is most himself when he is walking in the woods, noticing.  He pays attention to the trees, the rocks, the tracks on the path.  He sees things I would never see.  I am engrossed with the people, and the weather.  But he can stop and tell me signs of how nature, and the world, work.  I joke with him about it sometimes when he stops as I try to move the group ahead, saying something like, "Is it more strata??" But honestly, I love it.  And I deeply love giving him opportunities to share this gift with our children.  Love.  I mean like validate-the-marriage-and-life-together kind of love.  So that's worth packing a cooler for, isn't it?

The second component is what I call "The Group". In my mind, a big part of my job as a parent is to make sure my children have a sense of what it means to belong to a community.  I don't mean volunteering at a soup kitchen (though that would be a great thing to do as well).  I mean doing the work, pitching in, participating, making sure everyone has at least most of their needs met, and not taking the last marshmallow. It would delight me if someday I heard from their college friends that my kids make great roommates.  Actually, I say that often about my husband, that he is a great roommate.  People don't always think about that when picking a mate, but being a good roommate is really important in marriage. So, for me camping has this kind of lesson in abundance.  If you wear your shoes into the tent, we are all going to be dirty.  If you don't stake down your side of the tarp, we are all going to be wet.  You get the idea.  Its a parenting big rock for me, and camping gives me the perfect setting.

Actually, that is a perfect segue to the last big reason I love camping.  It IS a great setting for my husband, and for my kids.  And because of this, a lot seems to happen around me, without me constantly pushing, or orchestrating.  So, I'm like a crazy person all week writing lists and doing laundry and packing clothing.  But once we get there, my husband is like a camping guide, and the kids are participating and paying him rapt attention. And what am I doing?  Enjoying the view.