My kids love adventure.
Which is funny, because we don’t do it nearly enough. As someone who loves adventuring myself, that’s poor parenting.
Before Christmas last year, we wanted to surprise the kids with a trip to Indonesia, and asked them what they wanted to do for their next holiday. My son said see Komodo dragons, and my daughter said ‘go camping’.
Well.
Over the next few months, we inadvertently proceeded to give every excuse under the sun.
‘Too hot. We’ll wait until summer is over’
‘It’s meant to rain this weekend’
‘We might be a bit rushed to get back for that thing’
‘It’s going to be windy as f*ck’
‘We don’t have the right gear’
It started to eat at me. I felt like a crap dad, until I cracked it.
I told my partner and the kids on Friday night that we’re going camping.
Where was the question?
The backyard was the answer.
I realised that the kids don’t need a perfect trip, they don’t need a campsite with all the amenities. They don’t need a secluded river with no one around. They just want the experience.
So we did it.
We ransacked my in-laws’ camping gear for the stuff we didn’t have.
We set up a full campsite in the backyard.
We had showers and put our pj’s on.
Brought the dog down. Made a fire, had marshmallows, slept in swags and tents, and had a great time.
Sitting by the fire with my partner, kids in bed, I was assaulted by that warm, fuzzy feeling you get on the odd occasion.
We’d done something right, and it felt great.
Like most parents, I want the best for my kids. I want things to be perfect. Wild holidays that they’ll remember when they’re old and wrinkly. Picturesque camping spots. The perfect dog. The perfect dad. Fun all the time.
What I forgot is that they don’t care. They don’t know what ‘perfect’ is; they just want the experience. Imperfection makes memories, perfection makes stress.
So I’ll try and take them for a bushwalk out the back, despite there being people in the carpark. I’ll take camping despite conditions only being a 9/10.
Adventure is everywhere. Sometimes it’s on the other side of the world. Sometimes it’s out the back door.
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Previously Published on substack and is republished on Medium.
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