Camping, baby

Marcy and I set up my tent in the backyard a couple of days ago. Jake and Lizzy were wild to sleep in it. Tuesday night I said they could sleep in it once I got back from picking up Bri from an ice cream sculpting (eating) activity. By the time I got home Jake was already in his bed and when I asked him if he wanted to go outside he blearily replied that it was too late and he was in bed. So, Lizzy armed with a koala Webkinz and Bri armed with a flashlight and two books slept out there.

In many ways this is camping at its best. I slept in my air conditioned bedroom while my children enjoyed the great outdoors. They had access to bathrooms and a kitchen. We didn’t have to pack anything or drive anywhere. I didn’t have to sleep on the ground. It didn’t matter that my husband was in Delaware. And most importantly I had a TV to help Will fall asleep.

I’m trying to figure out if I could substitute this for actual camping. Maybe I’ll ban my kids from the house for a couple of days. They can forage in the backyard for food (we have a lot of wildlife – my husband saw three wild turkeys a couple of days ago!) If they get really hungry I can throw food off the deck. We can dig a latrine in the woods behind the house. Recycling is picked up on Fridays – so they’d have magazines for toilet paper. We’ll call it Survivor Backyard: Whoever Survives is the Winner. I almost think it could work, especially if I put Bri in charge of challenges. But ultimately it would fail. The lure of electronics and indoor plumbing is too strong for my children. The TV, Gamecube and DS are more powerful than any force of nature. I truly believe that Jake could be swept away by a tornado and still not put his Gameboy down.

But if this counts as camping, I could expand on the idea. If they could spend all day at a neighbor’s house and return home only to sleep in the tent, it would be just like a sleep away camp (only cheaper). Or I could film it as a reality show. I would just call it a psychological experiment when DSS showed up at my door. We will see how long sleeping on the ground holds any appeal for the kids. But they’ll get a real camping experience tonight because I think it’s going to rain on them!