Why Camping Matters...even though it hurts. - Charlotte Family Photographer

Camping is a total hassle. And it hurts.

I have bruises on both my hips. There’s lots of whining and complaining that goes into it. People don’t want to be there. Arriving home there’s 139 loads of laundry to do. A boatload of camping gear needs to be put away. The tent needs to be aired out…and the list goes on.

how we get camping

I can usually talk myself into camping if I somehow convince myself it’s not very much work. I go into my anything-is-possible world and Mike knows that I’ve just been knighted by the ‘this is easy fairy’ and there’s no going back. He’s right. I made a list on paper. It ended up a little messy with 5 different lists but it all fit on one paper which equals easy. I believe this process will take a few hours. This is obviously what a one page list means.

the list of stuff to do

We just need to do some laundry, make a dinner menu, go to the grocery store, find someone to watch Cocoa, shop for some needed camping gear, pack up our clothes, load the car, gather the food, put it in coolers, get gas, get ice, and do a triple check of all the stuff.

Just this part…the getting ready…is an experiment in familyness.

A day and a half later we are ready to leave.

So maybe it didn’t take three hours. Maybe it took thirty six.

And it’s possible that 1/2 way through prepping for this trip (or maybe 10 times) I considered not going. I wondered if this was all worth it. I had talked everyone into it but now….ummm….let’s not go. Yes. I thought that. Getting ready to go camping is enough to make you NOT go camping.

Thankfully, I have a husband and kids who say things like: I’m not crazy about this trip right now but I know when we get back we will be so glad we went.

I’m lucky like that.

Gratefully, that’s what kept me going. It kept me believing that this would be worth it.

the thing is, they are right

Getting on a camping trip is the biggest fight, pushing through the prep to get there. (I’m still working on enjoying the prep. I’m getting better at it…).

It’s always worth it. The bruises on my hips? Yes. They are worth it. The 36 hours of prep? Yes. It’s crazy but it’s true.

Even when it goes oh-s0-wrong it’s still right. It’s sounds nuts but it’s true.

A couple of years ago we went camping next to a river. The first two days and night were awesome! We kayaked and hiked and made dinners over campfires and read books and played and kayaked some more.

That night while we laid in our tent a huge storm raged around us. Rain began seeping in on us and dripping from our ceiling. Grace was thoroughly frightened and with every lightning bolt followed almost immediately by an enormous clap of thunder everyone else began to get a little more concerned.

Suddenly, there were headlights on our tent and a man calling out to us to jump into his truck. We were rescued by a friend that knew exactly where we were camping. They took us to their dry home and bundled us up in warm beds and we were all so grateful.

The next morning we went to retrieve our soaked through tent the rain had beaten all night.

To this day that is a loved family story. We lived through it together. Still, we love that trip and want to go back to that meadow by the river.

Camping gives us familyness stories. Stories to bind us up, remind us of the ways we pull together, rely on each other, and matter to one another.

The chance to be just us.

It’s nice to get away from the daily demands on our time and doing what is part of everyday life.

I love being away and having things be about pitching in to get camp set up and taken down.

the good stuff

There’s something about sleeping on the hard ground, nestled together in a tent, breathing the same 42 degree cold night air that makes a warm pancake breakfast taste like food from heaven.

Nature also brings connections that sometimes feel elusive in day to day life. Being in a cave in the earth in the pitch black darkness and having one flame to light the way is pretty powerful.

stories

Sitting around a campfire reminiscing and telling stories or sharing favorite parts of books,brings back connecting to each other that are unlike any other connections we have to anyone else. When I say, “remember how Grace used to sing those long princess songs” or just the phrase “Emmett’s yellow pants” or the name “Monte Cristo” we all immediately have memories of each of us, all of us, adventures and cray times we’ve had together.

Camping isn’t easy. It’s not the perfect get-away. But it is.

It’s easy once you’re there. When it’s just you. Everything else has been stripped away. The world has been simplified. What’s usually easy because of an oven a refrigerator and a stove becomes more complicated and more simple at the same time.

All of it together makes camping something that’s worth it all.

p.s. to see more photos from our camping trip follow me on instagram @davinafear

Davina Fear is a Familyness Adventurer. She believes it adds magic to the everyday to dine by the light of candles and and reads stories to her teenagers…even on camping trips.