This creepy old lady who we rented a campsite from in Maine ruined camping for me forever. It's a long story, but picture someone out of the movie Deliverance, stalking your every move on what she called "mah prahp'tay," even at 4:30 in the morning for outhouse runs.
I'll never give up a hot shower and soft bed for that again.
So when my husband announced that our 6 year old and 4 year old wanted to camp out in our backyard a couple of weeks ago, an invitation more than a statement, I said, "Well, you go right ahead. See you in the morning!"
It took my husband about an hour to remember how to put up the tent; another half-hour to blow up the air mattress and arrange the pillows, blankets, books and other supplies; and about 20 minutes of swatting bugs and listening to the skunks in the garbage before everyone reached the conclusion that this is nuts, let's go back inside to our beds.
Krys_mathews and her family is planning to camp out in her backyard as a trial run for the real deal next year. She's a little freaked out — not by the skunks but from safety worries, "the thought of being completely open and visible without a door lock and pretty much see-through walls."
I never thought of it that way. We live in a very safe neighborhood, but it never occurred to me how much those doors and locks really mean. I agree that I'll probably have deep reservations, too, if my kids ask to try backyard camping again on their own when they're older.
Would you let your kids camp alone in the backyard all night?
