Just wait.
Your teenagers will make you laugh. Sometimes it will be because they were trying to be funny, and sometimes not. You’ll typically know the difference, which will make it even better.
They’ll introduce you to music you didn’t know existed. You’ll hate some of it, but sometimes, you’ll listen to the playlist they made on your phone even when they’re not around. Sometimes they’ll even surprise you by knowing one of “your” songs.
They’ll impress you with their perceptiveness. They’ll observe things about themselves, and you, your family culture, and the world, that will make you stop and think, or laugh in recognition.
A safari truck came to pick us up on a Sunday morning from our lodgings – I don’t want to call it a hotel, but it also kind of was. Called Ndaza Escape, it’s located in Kinigi, Rwanda. It had three rooms and was really nice.
The safari truck driver took us to the welcome center at the foot of Mount Bisoke where we’d meet our guide and the rest of our group.
This was an act of trust. The Chaplain and I knew the hike would take all day, but we had no idea about the elevation or the level of effort it required, and we hadn’t packed proper mountain climbing clothes. We knew we’d be hiking, but didn’t realize we’d be climbing a volcano.
We left on a Friday, and drove for hours from Kigali, Rwanda, to an ecolodge overlooking tea plantations about an hour from the canopy walk we’d be doing at Nyungwe National Forest. A GPS search says it takes about 5 hours. There was much to see, and the long drive wasn’t a hardship.
Several days after we got to Rwanda, we woke up at 4 a.m. and loaded ourselves into a safari truck with our hosts.
I spent my childhood going on camping trips. In my memory, we went several times every summer. The cool nights, the many rainy afternoons spent in our tents reading books or playing cards, and peering out the window of the camper to see a skunk making its way across the campsite loom large in recollection.
As an adult, every camping trip I’ve taken until now has been with my parents. They’ve provided an extra tent for our growing family, blankets when someone forgot a sleeping bag, and logistical support with meals. I’ve never had to fully plan and execute a trip by myself.
Then, friends of our invited us to go camping with them this summer. We’re now quickly approaching the weekend in question, and at 40, I’m making my first solo camping trip with my family, but without my parents.
