A Woman's Perspective of Fathers and Sons

Zippity doo dah, Zippity aye,
My oh my what a wonderful day
Plenty of sunshine coming my way,
Zippity doo dah, Zippity aye. 

"Song of the South"

Because I'm a woman, and a wife, and a mother, my Raising Stick-to-it Kids Blog is naturally written from that perspective. I tend to be a blog-hog when it comes to my thoughts and ideas for raising stick-to-it kids. However, here's my chance to focus on the relationship between Father and Son.

A few weeks ago, Sam took our three youngest sons to a Fathers and Sons event sponsored by our church - an overnight camping trip in the canyon. What a wonderful opportunity to spend time together and learn some great lessons!

First lesson learned: Camping trips take a lot of work!
In our home, if an activity is taking place, all hands on deck. It's not Mom and Dad getting everything ready while the children veg on Game Cube or the iPad. EVERYONE, even the four year old, is involved. Assignments are given and hard work is expected. Fun times don't just magically occur. It takes planning, preparation, organization, and work to pull it off. Want to have fun? Get in on the prep work to make it happen. While preparing for this Fathers and Sons event, we had some complaining and griping. Certain someones weren't entirely thrilled about finding the flashlight or taking the tent out of the storage bag to be sure the poles and stakes are there. It was a good opportunity to discuss the above, and to stick to our expectations. Hopefully next time, the grumps will be non-existent. Wishful thinking?

Second lesson already learned: Pre-cook the tin foil dinners!
We have learned from experience that although in foil dinners are delicious, filling, and extremely satisfying on a camping trip, they take FOREVER to cook in a fire. Our solution - cook them in the oven BEFORE you leave. Nothing is worse than getting to the campsite, setting up all the gear, and realizing the potatoes and carrots in your tin foil dinner are still hard after sitting in the coals forever. So, the men left at 5PM with hot tin foil dinners. When they were ready to eat at 7:30, the food was still warm, cooked, and delicious. (Yes, I made them.) Some may say that it takes some of the fun out of it. Whomever those people are must have all the time in the world and no hungry kids whining at them.

Third lesson learned: Learn to setup the tent!
When my guys came home, one son expressed some frustration in having to help setup the tent. Here's how the conversation went...

"My friends didn't have to setup the tent...their Dads just did it." 

I asked him, "Why do you think Dad had you help setup the tent?"

"Because he's blind?"

"That's not the main reason. What's the real reason?"

"So we learn to do it?"

"YES!!!!"

Well, it's not just to learn how to setup a tent. Lesson number one comes into play here, too. It's the "all hands on deck" mentality. Hard work is expected and fun times follow.

Not our tent, but these guys sure helped!

Fourth lesson learned: Don't drink multiple cans of soda before bedtime!
Before retiring for the night, they all made a bathroom stop. After settling in their sleeping bags, our youngest son declared that he had to go again. Great! Dad had everyone get up again so there would be no chance of another child having to use the facilities. 4AM rolled around. He had to go again. Wow! Dad had everyone get up again to make the trek to the restroom. We don't drink soda on a regular basis at our house. Instead, we use it as a privilege for special times. Was it worth it boys?

Their friend all night long

 Fifth lesson learned: Have a zip line at every camping trip!
The zip line was the highlight of the Fathers and Sons outing. They truly could have come away with singing:  

Zippity doo dah, Zippity aye,
My oh my what a wonderful day!

All the boys, even Dad, went down several times and loved every minute of it!

Sixth Lesson Learned: Just do it, even if you're not feelin' it.
The thought of spending a night in a tent, in the mountains, is not my husband's idea of a good time. When he hears the yearly announcement for Fathers and Sons, he isn't exactly jumping up and down. However, he has learned to just go with it, even if it's not his thing. He does it for our boys, he does it to spend time with them, and to create memories. And oh, what memories they created!

A great Fathers and Sons Camping Trip!

And that's my perspective of the annual Fathers and Sons adventure. How'd I do, boys?

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!