The camping itself was much like the camping I remember as a kid. We pulled into the campsite on Wednesday afternoon. We set up camp, taking turns watching each other's kids. We got water and snacks to distract the kids while chopping firewood to make kindling. We had a campfire and dinner. It started to rain, so we called it an early night. My kids, lovers of white noise, slept like rocks. Until 5 am. They of course proceeded to wake up the other three families with us. We had planned to hike the section of the Ice Age trail that ran through the park to the Eastern Terminus. We started early and the hike lasted until about noon. We ate lunch and opted for car napping, since tent napping was just not happening. Sure enough once around the campground and they were out.
When Graham woke up he refused to get out of the car. He just kept saying over and over that he wanted to go home, see Dada, done camping. He refused to leave his car seat. It's at this point that all those anxious thoughts that I had prior to the trip came roaring back. As the sole parent, I was responsible for making the call to go home. I knew I wanted to stay. Graham, however, was adamant that we leave. He hadn't been feeling well and he looked so zoned out in his car seat. So we left. I started ripping down the campsite as fast as I could in the light rain that had persisted throughout the day. My friends held Warren or helped me throw our soaking gear into the car. They would continue to stay while I left. It is this point that felt like defeat. I wanted to know, what had I done wrong?
Our camping trip was successful right up until it wasn't anymore. I could have chosen to push through with a grumpy, frustrated, and increasingly obstinate toddler. I chose to go home. Part of my decision process included the reasoning that if I ended the trip before everyone was miserable, then I knew I'd be more likely to get them to go with me again.
I'm planning to go on more solo camping trips with the boys. I know that with practice we'll end up being fantastic at it. Our neighbor went camping this weekend and Graham looked up and asked if we could go as well. That's success right there.
This post was originally published on Walking Towards Less. Photos courtesy of Kate Bernhard
Heidi Schertz lives with her husband (Elliot) and two sons (Graham & Warren) in Milwaukee. When not exploring urban wildernesses she enjoys reading, knitting, and cooking. She blogs at Walking Towards Less and is on Instagram.
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