I'm an outdoorswoman.

Here we are in the tent. Having been on several camping trips with Girl Scouts before, I have learned that sleeping in a tent is much different when you are a grown-up than it was when you were little.
Therefore, I took two benadryl about a half hour before we went outside. Medication makes the ground a little more tolerable. I also laid my sleeping bag out on my Therma Rest sleeping pad,
which, if you are going to be sleeping on the ground, is very nice. I made Spencer and Madison use foam pads, because I am the mom.

It really wasn't that bad. We pitched the tent on the spot where the pool normally goes, so the ground was nice and level. We found 64 square feet of lawn that were miraculously dog poop free. It had been 85 degrees outside before the sun went down, so the tent was nice and warm. We had flashlights. Madison brought a Muse magazine, Spencer brought the New York Times crossword puzzle, and I, just to get in the spirit of things, brought some outdoor guides that I have had for a while, but never really read.

I began reading The National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Guide, and I got myself all excited to take a NOLS course. They offer a 9 day course for leading a backpacking trip, which is something I would like to do with the Girl Scouts in three or four years. So now, that's on the list.

Spencer, who has become soft, lasted about an hour in the tent. By that time, the benadryl had really kicked in, and I was too drowsy to give him too much grief about going inside to a cozy bed. I listened to the sounds around me- traffic one block over, someone's music too loud in the distance, a neighbor laughing. The last thing I heard before I went to sleep was a whisper from beside me: "Thanks for staying."

It was my pleasure.