Simply living in a tent!
I spend much of August in a tent. A fortnight on the Isle of Wight, a weekend at a festival with the nappies, and a long weekend at a music festival with the kids. And I loved it!
I have always loved camping. I choose camping for a family holiday, partly because it is all we can really afford, but partly because it’s great fun.
In a moment of peace on the campsite this year, I mused on what I love about camping so much. Here are my reasons:
1, You are outdoors, all the time, from the moment you get up to the moment you go to sleep. This was particularly lovely this year when the weather was great, but is always good and soul-satisfying, whatever the weather!
2. The kids can have freedom. There are hardly any cars, and you can pretty much see everyone, so you can let them go off and play. We joked about packs of feral children roaming the campsite, but really it was groups of kids, having fun together and coming home when they are hungry or it gets dark. Like childhood used to be.
3. This is the biggy. This is why it feels so freeing. We have no stuff. I have 1 box of cooking equipment and crockery, one box of food, and 2 suitcases one with mine and my hubby’s clothes in and one for the kids. Then each person brings a carrier bag with toys/games/books etc.. and that’s it. Cleaning up takes minutes as we are living in one room.
So that is it. A simpler, paired down life. Every year when summer ends and we pack the tent away for the last time I feel sad. Part of me wishes that life could be like that all the time. I yearn for that level of simplicity. But real life goes on and to be honest I love some of my stuff ; what would I do without my Kenwood chef and slow cooker?!
What about you – how do you find simplicity in your life?
I think I like camping because we did it as kids with my mum and dad. Brings back lots of lovely fun memories.
Aw – I like it for that reason too!