Every night for the last month, my son has been asking me the same question: "Mom, is it summer yet?" I smile and say, "Not yet, but soon."
He gives a huge sigh and then rolls over in utter despair, going to sleep with the reluctance and irritation that only four-year-olds can muster.Meanwhile, his parents would give anything to be able to go to bed at 7:30 and sleep through the night.
Our son is obsessed with summer coming and wants it to be summer today, every day, because for him summer means camping, both in the backyard and at campgrounds.We are in the midst of planning for our first camping trip of the summer and I am using a Pollyanna-esque mantra for the first trip of the year. It goes a little something like this: "I will not forget the tent poles.We will get a camping space. The mosquitoes won't be that bad." Repeat until you believe it.
I was listening to the radio a little while ago and they were running a program on the challenges of reserving and finding a spot to camp this summer with the expected hot weather.From what I was hearing, most reserved spaces in our provincial parks are booked up for the whole summer.
On one hand, camping is pretty fun so I understand why it is so popular in our beautiful province.
On the other hand, how on earth do people plan their vacations so far in advance? By the middle of May, most of the reserved options are full?Who does that?It might be just me but when I feel like going on a camping trip, we tend to have less than a week of lead time for planning and that's only if the weather will be nice.
The conversation may go like this: "Husband? Do you want to go camping?" Husband would reply: "I guess so."
Then we call my parents because they have all the camping stuff (including a motorhome) to see if they want to go too.You see, my husband isn't a huge fan of camping. In fact, on more than one occasion he has remarked that camping is a scam designed for middle-class people who have homes to pretend that they're homeless.In his opinion, it's better to have a fire in the backyard and sleep in your own bed when you get tired and cold.
That being said, we have a lot of fun camping and even though it's not my husband's favourite holiday, we still enjoy being together as a family - tents, poles and all.
I'm hopeful that some solution to the reservation nightmare for B.C. parks can be found so that in the event I plan a camping vacation, it's possible to book in advance.I am looking forward to saying to our son, "Yes, it's summer now and we're going camping."
My son and my husband will be overjoyed.
