camping

Eight years ago  JD & I bought a tent.

I was so excited to relive some of my favorite childhood memories. I remember camping with the cousins, swimming along the North Shore, picking wild raspberries and being mesmorized by the campfire. I was sure that JD and I would become campers.

JD did not share my enthusiasm for camping. He'd grown up going to the cabin up north. A rustic little cabin, perhaps somewhat similar to camping. But still, not a tent. He liked the idea of having a roof over your head and sleeping in a bed.

The one time we went camping after we bought our tent, we went with our friends from church. We set up the tent... and slept in our van. The rain, which had caused us to spend the day huddled underneath a tarp, was too much for our tent. Many of our friends had given up and gone home, but we were determined to stick it out.

Perhaps that's why we waited eight years to set the tent up again!

We set it up in our backyard last week. I figured it would be a novelty for the kids, and JD was more willing to do that than roughing it at a campsite. I thought we'd spend the evening in and around the tent, eating s'mores, pretending to camp, and then head inside. But, to my surprise, everyone stuck it out and spent the night in the tent.

It was the best of both worlds. Camping with an exit strategy. Someday we might get to the North Shore, but we for sure have some great memories and maybe even a new tradition.