We are doing it again, camping over Easter. But rather than a cabin like 2011, we are roughing it in a tent. As soon as Jason said we should go somewhere economical this Easter, I knew what he was thinking. Oh help me. Claire is not coming but the other two kids are, under duress.
The kids are coming because we told them they had to. I might have told them if they don’t make a fuss and come, they can get a day off school for the Easter Show next week. As an aside, I really wish the Easter Show in Sydney was during the school holidays. I know it’s supposed to be around Easter but can’t someone fix the calendar, moon, dates or whatever?
I realise a bribe isn’t a good thing to do but I think we all need a holiday. Sure we have our Bali holiday in May but we need a break now. School has been busy for the kids, in particular for Makeyla starting high school. Both bathrooms being renovated. Work for Jason and I has been hectic of late and we were snubbed by friends recently. We loosely spoke about camping with one of Jamie’s rugby friend’s family who we have holidayed with before but they decided to go camping with another couple. Jason feels we were dropped for another family who is more, well, popular. I say their loss.
I can understand and share the kids’ concern about camping in tents. I have the battle camping scars from previous camping holidays as a kid or when we were newlyweds. One particular holiday stands out in my memory.
Jason and I had gone through a rough patch financially and friends suggested we should go on a holiday camping with them. Our Claire was aged around 5 at the time and our other ones were not born yet. It was up on the North Coast. We battled exiting Sydney traffic on the way up the coast and expected a warm week. I was suffering a bad case of sunburn on my face and then the weather turned one afternoon.
Claire was asleep and being a little more relaxed by this time in our holiday I decided I wanted a few extra wines one afternoon. It was raining and we had our tent and our friend’s set up with a huge tarp in between. Lots of wine, talk, laughter with everyone teasing me about my pash rash. My sunburnt face by this time had started to peel on my chin. It was red and sore. I have no idea what time it was when I staggered to bed. It kept raining.
It felt like I was only asleep for a short time when I felt my arm being tugged. It was Claire, saying we were floating. I told her to go back to sleep. My head ached by that stage from too much wine, my face hurt and skin was flaking off. Jason was dead to the world. Claire kept getting louder and louder saying we were floating. I put my arm out and it fell into wetness. I fumbled around for the torch and flicked it around our tent. We had about two inches of water in our tent. And all sorts of things were floating around the tent. By this stage I could hear other people waking in their tents. Lots of noise, tents unzipping and people swishing around in the water surrounding them. It was still raining.
Jason finally woke and in his daze stomped on my foot. In one swoop I picked up Claire swore about my foot and stumbled outside. The water level looked to be rising. My head throbbed, my foot throbbed and I felt sick. I was yelling orders to Jason who was still stumbling around in the tent trying to get clothes on. It must have been about 3am.
I must have looked a stunner. My hair long at the time was a mess, I noticed it in a reflection later after I staggered up the camp site hill to higher ground. I must have looked just stunning. My hair, hopping around with a child in my arms, my peeling and red chin with my head hung so low with a painful headache. An older lady who we befriended earlier in the week with her little dog came to our rescue was in a caravan up on the campsite hill. Here she said, let me look after your daughter in our caravan and out of the rain. Did I say it was still raining? The older lady’s husband came back down the hill to help us quickly pack up our belongings that had started to float away.
When we had put all of our stuff in piles under one of the campsite colas, we both fell back onto our soggy camp beds and slept for a few hours, leaving Claire with the older couple. Can’t remember their names but they were just lovely. We decided later the next day when the weather was not improving to go home early.
So let’s hope with our little holiday this Easter we don’t have massive flooding, the kids have a good time and I don’t get sunburnt.
What are you doing for your Easter? Do you have a camping horror story?
