If you’ve been following along with my column then you may remember a previous piece I wrote titled “#MomLife: Camping for Beginners.” In it I talked about our first camping experience in a tent. We had a great time but by the end of the column I mentioned I had started looking for a small camper because I quickly learned I was not a tent camper. I’m a city girl who likes her luxuries.
Well, I did it! I bought a Hybrid Camper a week ago and I’m obsessed with it.
If you know me in real life then I’m sure you have heard about my latest obsession at least once or a hundred times if you’re my best friend, (Sorry, Alek). I immediately got started on decorating and designing the space to make it a cozy little camping experience for my family. I guess you could say that I have my sights set on glamping vs. camping. I mean, I’m not really an outdoorsy type of person, but I’d like to learn to be one during the summer.
The beauty of a camper is that I can set many things up before we go camping rather than packing everything in the car, and setting everything up when we arrive like you have to do with a tent. So naturally I picked a color scheme first. Teal and orange. I know, it doesn’t sound cute, but trust me, I have a vision! Although the cushions were in pretty good shape for being over 20 years old, I wanted to re-cover them to match my colors. I picked and ordered the fabric for my starting point. The fabric is mostly teal with orange accents so I knew I wanted to make orange curtains to compliment it. The curtains really make the space feel cozy and warm. They were super easy to make and I’m just in love with them.
Once I was done with the curtains my cushion fabric had been delivered! So of course I sat down the very same day and sewed covers to re-cover my dinette area. You would think that I would take my time and slowly start working on it since it’s not camping season yet but I’m just so excited to get my camper ready that I just can’t stop. The art of decorating a space is exhilarating. Once you start it’s hard to stop, at least for me anyway, I want to see the end result as soon as possible and I’m impatient.
I know to some people it seems weird that I would invest time and money into a camper that will only be used a handful of times a year but I’m really committed to teaching my children to unplug and practice some self-care. With technology running our lives it’s really hard to get away from it on a daily basis. But the beauty of camping is that you’re in the woods far enough away that the WiFi signal is spotty if you get a signal at all, and it forces you to be a family and spend time together and just get away from the everyday chaos of life for a few days at a time.
It also gives me an excuse to remind my children to play outside. More often than not I find us staying inside no matter what the weather is because everyone is so addicted to their technology. The excuse is, is it cold? We have heat. Is it hot? We have air conditioning. But with camping we are there to enjoy the hot or the cold. We are there to play outside in the river and run around playing tag and roasting marshmallows over the fire to make smores. And I know my camper is going to make camping much more comfortable, and give us a sense of home when we are away, but it will still allow us to enjoy the outdoors and unplug. Yes, I know, my camper has electricity, but like I said earlier, I’m still a city girl trying to learn to be an outdoorsy girl, so I have to bring some luxuries with me.
I’m counting down the days when I can hook my camper up to my hitch and drive off into the sunset. But alas, we live in Michigan and are at the mercy of Mother Nature. Until then I will continue adding to my camper supplies, making it look pretty, and dreaming of all of the memories we will make.
Steph Hightree is a hot mess mom who is fueled by stress and too much caffeine. She is a Three Rivers native who talks about the good, the bad, and well, everything else about parenthood.
Any views or opinions expressed in “#MomLife” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.
