Cottage Living with Dani: Laughter, New Experiences & Teachable Moments

I took my children camping. My husband was away and I decided that taking a baby, a toddler and a ten-year-old into the bush on a weekend was a great idea. I had the blessing of the camping gods upon me though, as both young ones slept the entire way to the site and I got to enjoy a heavenly cup of coffee in silence.

The trip was hard work. I had neurotically prepared with many scribbled mom-lists and many totes packed with every possible food, cleaning and first aid item that could be required in a three-day span.

Amidst the barrage of questions that mostly included, “When can we go swimming?” and “What’s for dinner?”, sleeping bags were unrolled, food was unpacked, and life jackets and paddles made their way quickly to the water.

Now at this point, I could focus on the chaos, the screaming, the crying and a few meltdowns that may or may not have been the result of a scary spider on the ceiling of the trailer at midnight. However, what unfolded over the next forty hours was a ton of laughter, new experiences and teaching moments that were the direct result of my children spending time with their grandparents.

My parents were part of the trip and spent every waking moment of the day with my kids. They taught them how to build a proper fire, took them fishing, swimming, kayaking, walked them up and down to the lake countless times, listened to campfire stories, played many rounds of UNO around the picnic table, snorkeled, took them tubing, and also supplied my kids with an endless amount of kisses, hugs and cuddles.

These same memories that I hold dear from my childhood are being made with my own brood.  

So despite the hard work, the lack of sleep and scary spiders; I took my children camping with Nana and Pops, and it was a great idea. 

By Danielle McNelly, Nortech for Windows, Doors & Sunrooms
www.nortechwindows.com