I don't know if this is a feel good parenting story or just a story I feel like sharing, either way here it is.
My son asked me to take him and his son (5yo) camping. Not tough like the BWCA/Quetico but remote enough to be away from stuff. I've been very involved in the grandsons life so far, he lived with us for the first 2.5 years of his life along with his parents, he still stays over or is over a lot every week. I recommend it strongly. The hike in to our campsite was a mile, over hill, through forests and swamps. He cried the whole way in. "The pack is too heavy, my legs hurt, I don't know how to do this", on and on. This is a normally relentlessly positive kid that is a good stretch advanced for his age, both physically and mentally. I overpacked but made sure that his backpack that was reasonable for his weight. It was rough, eventually I convinced my son to stop trying to help him and let him figure it out. I did go and adjust the straps on the backpack to make sure it fit. The rest of the night went ok, we caught bugs, went hiking, threw rocks, had a campfire with smores etc. He was still a little off. As night came in and the fire died down his dad went to sleep in a hammock and I went with the GK to the tent. Sleep came quickly even though it was his first night doing that type of thing. I know it seems easy but animal noises, an uneven surface, the blow up pad, and a sleeping bag with a small pillow is all new. Something wakes me up at 3am, looking around I seem him on his feet fiddling with his sleeping bag. Then I hear it...
He says to himself, "I'm really struggling here". I can feel the despair.
His back was to me, he had no clue I was awake but it was one of those grandparent times. I knew to let him try to figure it out. A few minutes later he got in the bag and went back to sleep. About 30 minutes later I had to get up so I checked out how he was set up. He was in his sleeping bag, huddled in a corner. No pad, no pillow, asleep. So I fixed the pad, slid his sleeping bag over with him in it and gave him a pillow. He didn't stir. The next night was a little better, but I did get him back on the sleeping pad at 3am. Through the days we walked a lot, 6-10 miles a day, just exploring and having fun. The final thing to do was the walk out...and it started again. As we approached the first hill he said the same old stuff, my legs are tired, my pack is too heavy and then he asked me if I could help him. So i said sure, and held his hand while we walked. He was pulling me up the hill. As we crested the hill I thanked him for helping me, he corrected me saying he asked me for help, and I said I guess we helped each other. The rest of the way he insisted on leading. Just one of those little victories.
