I love camping, but I am so mad at it right now. We just got back from a trip to the mountains in Fujairah. It was great, and I was reminded of many amazing campouts we've had with the girls all over the US, the UAE, and Oman. There is something soul-stirring about sleeping outside in the mountains or on the beach or in a forest, with my husband and kids snuggled up close. It reminds me that the world is big and beautiful and we are small but together.
Enter Sterling. Objectively, I know camping will get better and better as he grows up. But that didn't make it any easier last night when Sterling slept from 9-11pm and then called it good enough. Eleven pm! I've done the 4am thing while camping plenty of times, but 11pm is not even close to morning. We were in the mountains with a few other families, and rather than disturb everyone with our fussy baby, a little after midnight I drove Sterling back down the mountain and back home for five hours of truly lovely sleep, then back up the mountain this morning to rejoin the family. It was ridiculous. But it was making the best of a frustrating situation.
The most honest conversations sometimes happen at night. Last night around midnight, Jeremy and I spoke in hushed, defeated tones about how we can't go camping again until Sterling sleeps through the night. We vowed to keep each other strong, to remind each other that someday soon when one of us says "hey, why don't we go camping?" the other person is there to take a stand and say "oh honey no."
Enter Sterling. Objectively, I know camping will get better and better as he grows up. But that didn't make it any easier last night when Sterling slept from 9-11pm and then called it good enough. Eleven pm! I've done the 4am thing while camping plenty of times, but 11pm is not even close to morning. We were in the mountains with a few other families, and rather than disturb everyone with our fussy baby, a little after midnight I drove Sterling back down the mountain and back home for five hours of truly lovely sleep, then back up the mountain this morning to rejoin the family. It was ridiculous. But it was making the best of a frustrating situation.
The most honest conversations sometimes happen at night. Last night around midnight, Jeremy and I spoke in hushed, defeated tones about how we can't go camping again until Sterling sleeps through the night. We vowed to keep each other strong, to remind each other that someday soon when one of us says "hey, why don't we go camping?" the other person is there to take a stand and say "oh honey no."