This ya-ya has arrived home. There really is no place like it! We had a hardworking, tiring, no relaxing utterly amazing camping vacation. Camping with 3 children 4 and under is not for the faint of heart. It is dirty, so, so, so dirty. It is non-stop, on the go from morning til night, moving seamlessly from one activity to the next. It was our best vacation EVER! We arrived in Blue Lake unscathed after our 3 and a half hour road trip (no stops, don't give kids enough credit, they were amazing.) Within minutes, I realized that my little tiny princess is going to be all dirt, all the time. She is in that funny learning to walk stage. Walking and then falling into the dirt, the pine needles, the sand. It doesn't bother her one bit, (more to eat down there) but me, I do not claim to be a neat freak but this filthiness took some real ajusting to. (Sorry all you Norwex types, no matter what fancy cloths and sprays you have, your kids are still just plain dirty!!)
The city limits must confine their spirits, they were different kids from the moment we arrived in the great wild. Was it me or was it them? Maybe both. We laughed all the time. We looked at things at a snail's pace and level for that matter. I saw the beauty of our surroundings from their very short levels and wow, what a marvel it was. I watched my Ty grow into a little man. He ventured off on his bike, up and down the road all on his own. That ear-to-ear smile he wore was the makings of a proud mama, his independence literally bringing tears to my eyes. He thought the biggest adventure was the little path he wore through the woods on his way to the outhouse. I stood in the trailer, despite his instructions, and watched every step to ensure his safe return. Where has the time gone? He sat and listened intently at the junior naturalist critter dipping session we attended together, confident in what an invertebrate was by the end. We hiked, he led the way with his little map. I watched as he warmed up to the other kids on our bay and always seemed to engage them in his imaginative adventures. He thinks he needs me to strike up the friendships but I was in awe of his confidence as he drew others in. Really, what a beautiful thing it is to watch our kids shine.
My Maggie, strong willed, stubborn, and one of my biggest joys. I would not trade the week I spent with her for all the riches in the world. She seemed to come alive the further we got from home. Adventure seeking is in her blood. She loved being amongst her family, only us to play with. I took her to the potty each and every time, Daddy wouldn't do this time. We ran up and down the roads in search of the perfect outhouse (is there one?) Yes, a button flush type, not unlike an airplane, this is the "pretty princess bathroom" and each time was our special time. I watched that little angel run with her heels kicking her little bum trying her darndest to keep up with her brother. I saw her antics for what they are, love for her siblings, the way her little voice climbs up octaves when she talks to her baby "Sades" and the way that each time Ty opens his mouth, the same words come out hers. She idolizes that little man in her life. I shared a bed with my Maggie and Have never been much for sleeping with my kids but there it was magical. Her big eyes closed after a big day of adventures can melt my heart everytime. I laid as close to her as possible and treasured those precious moments of stirring before the next day started.
Baby Sades, oh Baby Sades, I thought you were to be the easy going girl in this family. I may eat my words (am already). She didn't like being dirty either and has now moved fully into walking. Trouble is on the horizon as there are no barriers anymore especially, when there is a world to see out your front door. We pulled more pine cones and needles from her mouth than I can count. The road was no obstacle when trying to reach the neighbors 2 golden retrievers. She's a people watcher and sat contentedly in her stroller, bike carrier or backpack while we wandered aimlessly through the campgrounds, smiles all around for this lady. I hold tight to all the "last times" with Sadie as there are no more babes to come, even the middle of the night ones (of which there are many). Sadie did not collapse at nightfall like the others, it revved her up, if anything. I spent every night trying to coax her back to sleep with bottles, rocking, ssshhhhing, 12oclock, 2 oclock, 4 oclock sometimes getting up for the day by 4:15. Was she cold, cutting a tooth, lonely, in her playpen on the bed at the end of the trailer, did she hear a bear, a bird, a squirrel? Who knows? What I do know is that even if I was up for hours each night ( no exaggeration), I held her and rocked her and watched her fall asleep in my arms, feeling full and nostalgic knowing those moments may never come again. By next year, she will be in a bed and not so dependent on mama. Chad took over by sun up and braved the cold with her nestled in the bike carrier, logging 20 miles in 3 mornings. He even made a Tim's run to Dryden just to get her to sleep a bit more, nothing like a 5 am start to the day to get you going. This little angel was worth every sleepless night.
We have returned, tired, camped out for the year. Our clothes smell of fire and are sticking together with marshmallow goop. The kids are still dirty but we're working on it. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. As mom's, we spend time multi tasking, always thinking ahead to the next step, making sure we have dotted our "i's and crossed our "t's. Not while camping. The entire trip from start to finish was about them. Every second, every moment spent playing and fully engaged, not cleaning or organizing. I think I understand my children better and I LOVE the deep level on which I got to know each of them. My hubby, well, that's another story. Never knowing what Sadie had in store for us each night meant not even any snuggles around the fire. We were as tired by sundown as the kids and as cold (damn summer, lows of 6 some nights, should have brought touques). We looked at the familes around us and saw what camping will become in years to come. The parents sitting reading around the fire, enjoying a chat while their teens take off with friends on bikes. Won't that be the day? For now, I will just treasure this starting point with our 3 little bears, thankful to be in nature with the ones I love.
