Children Need Room To Roam

This year we had two parts to running away. The first was a hotel with a pool. The second was camping surrounded by the mystery of mountains. 

Camping is amazing. We set up tents in an area bigger then our entire apartment. Then we stay outside of them. The kids wonder away from me, and I can still keep an eye on them, and they have freedom from me. Everyone had chores - J was in charge of the fire, L was in charge of the water, and S was in charge of cleaning up. I cooked. No one complained. Even cooking three meals a day was not time consuming. There was still plenty of time for exploring, wondering, and even reading.

It was amazing to see my children being children. J and L did not escalate each other's anxiety - they got along and were best buddies. While S stayed moodily by the fire they explored the mountainside together. They battled snakes, explored whole countries, and used this amazing thing called an imagination. When they were bored they came up with new games - like having me create a scavenger hunt for them.

The entire time we were gone there was not one panic attack or meltdown by anyone. This is even more amazing when you hear about the trip.

It snowed - in southern California. It was not just a little snow - in about two hours there were three inches of heavy packing snow - enough to break tents. The wind was so bad that tents were flying around. At two in the morning I finally had to knock the snow off the tent before it broke. Then the cold came. We tried to stick it out, playing Uno in the tent. With the insulation gone it finally was a bit to much. We abandoned the tent and went to the car. Not one panic attack - even when J first thought the tent was being attacked by bears instead of snow.

It makes you stop and wonder how our society has gotten it so wrong. People call it progress, yet we have gone from time outside to bigger houses. Instead of food grown from the ground, it is created in labs. All the while incidents of autism and childhood mental health have increased.

Instead of a big house I dream of an RV surrounded by land - land to play in and to grow food on. Do not get me wrong - I love my Kindle, adore the internet, and do not know what my family would do without music. But, it is amazing how many more hours there are in the day when you are not paying attention to time.