Franklin Five: Camping

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Camping

There is just something special about camping. Okay, maybe you are not a fan of bugs, bears, or sleeping on the ground. For my family, we don't mind a few of the drawbacks because we really enjoy being together outdoors. From waking up in the morning to a duck quacking outside of our tent, to eating all of our meals outside, to enjoying sitting around a campfire and watching the sun go down, we had a great time. Our Canadian friends, Alison and Mark, invited us to join their family this past weekend in the area called 1000 Islands. It's a beautiful area close to the St. Lawrence River about 4 hours east of Toronto. We actually didn't "rough it" too much because we stayed at a KOA campground that had nice bathrooms and two heated pools. Our friends have a camper so we ate most of our meals with them. That's my kind of camping! Part of what made it such a great weekend was how much we love these friends. They have been such a blessing from the first day we moved to Canada, and all of our children get along so well.

I've heard a statistic about camping and families. I don't remember all the details but it basically said that the one thing a group of healthy families had in common was that they all went camping. I don't think there's anything magical about camping itself but it does get you away from a lot of distractions and is a fun thing to do together.

Sometimes, we just need to get away. Away from routines and hurrying. Away from TV and computers. Away from responsibilities and stress. Playing with the kids and roasting marshmallows were about the extent of Tim's duties this weekend. The kids spent the weekend playing, swimming, and getting dirty. I think that's the definition of a perfect weekend. Hooray for camping and healthy families! I think we just may be getting a pop-up camper and doing this more often.