A great evening...

Last Monday evening, I took the opportunity to do something I haven't done before.

Some would say that since I haven't been doing it all along, that I am not a good Father, but I say 'Repentance is a good thing'.

Zach (my third son) and I went up into the woods to go camping. I thought it was kind of neat to have this "premiere" event be with my youngest boy, as he is very often last on just about every other thing. Last to ride a bike, last to play sports, last to get to go to scout camp, etc. Well, Monday night, he was the first to have a "father and one son camp out".

Due to my job, I didn't get home until about 7 pm, and we really didn't leave until about 8:00. It left us just enough light to get up to Scout Mountain, get the tent set up, get a fire going, and make polish sausage dogs. After dinner, we sat around the fire and Zach got to talk about whatever he wanted to. We talked about Football, his siblings (and the things they do that drive him nuts), school things and such. At about 10:30, we climbed into the tent, said goodnight and went to sleep.

I should say, I went to sleep. About 20 minutes later, Zach shook me and said "Dad, I can't sleep - you're snoring too loud." I said "Sorry" and rolled over. About 5 minutes later, I hear 'Dad, I am going to sleep in the truck". At that point, knowing I was probably going to snore at any position conceded, and off he went.

Lucky Zach.

At about 4:00 am, I was awakened by the sound of Thunder, followed by about 2 hours of near constant light flashes as a Storm rolled over the nearby ridge of Scout Mountain. The thunder wasn't too close, but the rain / hail sure hit hard. I stayed surprisingly dry, but spent the rest of the night in a restless slumber. And, oh, by the way, Kelty makes a great small back packer's tent - but, the poles are aluminum, and that point wasn't lost on me either.

In the morning, I was awakened by the cloudless sky and a sunny disposition. When I opened the cab of the truck, Zach sleepily rolled over and said. Wow, I slept good. He slept through the whole storm!

We had a quick breakfast of Hostess doughnuts, took down the tent, and made it home by 10am.

Looking back, the whole deal took a few hours of my comfort, but was probably worth thousands of hours in memories and most of all, gave each of us the feeling that at that moment in time that we spent together, we were the only two in the world!

I love you, Zach! Thanks for the camp out!

I look forward to doing this with all of my children. Do any of you have traditions that you do with your children, siblings, parents? Pass it on!