Friday night, we were bored. Bored. Bored. Bored. So I said to the kids: "Hey, why don't we camp out in the backyard tonight?" (The look that Eric gave me was a cross between please-tell-me-you-didn't-just-say-that and CRAP.) After all, the temperature was sitting around 96 degrees with an expected low around 78. We're wimps. We like our low humidity and AC.But, in an attempt to make cherished childhood memories, Eric reluctantly set up the tents and we hauled out every blanket, pillow and cushion we could find to make things cozy.
A little after 10pm, we got settled into our sleeping arrangements - kids in one tent, mom & dad in the other - and tried to go to bed.
Gus & Bea giggled and played flashlight games for the first 45 minutes before dozing off, while Eric & I laid there like steamed rice, sticking to ourselves and trying to catch a breeze coming through the tent vents. Not NEARLY enough air to cool things off.
Between the heat, humidity, bugs, street noise, occasional fireworks, and the bright full-moon light, I don't know that I ever really fell asleep. And when Bea woke up at 2am with a tummy ache and a fever, she and I called it "quits" and went inside. The boys remained outside until 6am when the birds and sunshine woke them much earlier than we all would have liked on a Saturday morning.
So we tried camping. Cross that off the list of: Things Parents Should do with Their Kids at Least Once.
PS.
Here's comedian Jim Gaffigan's take on camping (and waking up, and bacon!) Thanks Madeline for sharing this with me. It couldn't be more true or more funny.
