The magic and misery of camping with kids

At the risk of stating the obvious, I was reminded this weekend that parenting is not always about enjoying yourself in the moment. It is often about curating experiences for your kids that may or may not be enjoyable for you.

I went camping with my three boys (8-year-old Sasan and 4-year-old twins Hafez and Azad), my mom, and another family at Kankakee River State Park, which sits on the ancestral homelands of the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi nations, also known as the Council of the Three Fires.

If I am being honest, it was equal parts magical and miserable. It was hot, buggy, sweaty, sticky, and the bathrooms were a crime scene. I felt like I spent three days straight packing, unpacking, setting up, cleaning, and cooking. Why do people go camping with kids again?

But witnessing your kids experience so many firsts makes it all worth it. It’s a thin margin, but the magic beats out the misery. My twin four-year-olds slept in a tent for the first time. They had s’mores next to a campfire and went canoeing and swimming in a river for the first time. And maybe best of all, for one of the boys, his first time peeing in a river. Honestly, that may have been the highlight of the entire trip. While playing in the river, one of my boys had to go really bad. My friend told him he could go in the river. I think it was the best thing my son had ever heard. He ran off to tell the other boys like he had just won the lottery: “Guys! We can pee in the river!!! Like for real!!!” And he did. And I cannot deny the profound sense of gratification that came with witnessing my son relieve himself in the great outdoors. Moments like THAT are why parents suffer through the indignities of camping with kids. I finally get it.