Camp Out Success, Sort Of

I mentioned how our previous attempt to camp out, (two weeks ago), in the backyard was rained out. Well, this weekend, we tried again.

I set up the tent in our backyard, right next to the play set. The boys  gathered up all their blankets and pillows and sleeping bags, and I pulled some extras out of the closet for us. They got their showers, brushed their teeth, got a couple of books each and one toy each, and we three headed out to the tent at 8:00. I zipped up the door, and we all snuggled into our blankets.

The evening air was full of noise: birds singing, the breeze in the trees, a plane flying overhead, cars passing by on the road, air conditioners turning on. Holy moly, but nighttime outside is damn noisy. The boys are used to sleeping in a quiet room with a fan running, so this was like trying to go to sleep on a construction site. So far as noise goes, I could probably sleep at a rock concert. I ended up falling asleep before they did.

I woke up sometime in the middle of the night. The sky was dark and the sounds were relatively quiet. But the hard ground was killing me. Even with a folded blanket and the tent floor under me, I just couldn’t get comfortable. I tried to avoid tossing and turning too much because I didn’t want my movements to wake either or both boys. I laid there a long time in discomfort. Eventually I reached around and found my cell phone to check the time. 10:56. Not even eleven o’clock yet? I’d been asleep only about two hours? There was no way I was going to make it through the night in the tent, on the ground.

I slowly and quietly got up, unzipped the tent door, stepped out, zipped up the tent door, and tip toed through the yard to the back door. Once inside the house, I opened the blinds of the den so I could see the backyard and the tent from the couch where I found comfort and sleep.

Early in the morning, just as the sun was starting to lighten the sky, Calfgrit7 came in the back door and said he couldn’t sleep. He wanted to go up to his bedroom, so I told him to go on. He ended up in bed with his mother.

A little while later, with the sun fully up, Calfgrit11 came in the back door. He wanted to go on up to his room and play, so I told him to go on. I lay on the couch for probably another half hour before it was time to start the day.

So in the end, camping out was noisy and uncomfortable — everything I thought it would be.

Bullgrit