Solo Camping for a Happy Marriage! Its Impact and Effects on the Family
Do you think that only family camping can help ensure a happy family life? Surprisingly, solo camping can also contribute to family harmony. In this article, I've summarized how solo camping can affect your family. The writer is in their 40s with a high school-aged child.
・Understand the role of solo camping
Contents of this article
・Who is solo camping for?
・The Impact of Solo Camping on the Family
・You and your spouse can have some alone time
・It becomes a topic of conversation with your children
・It can be an opportunity to start family camping
・Impact on yourself
Solo camping has a very positive impact on yourself.
As we eagerly await spring, an unspoken tension often hangs in the air at home, causing our tempers to fray and small arguments to become more frequent.
When the air smells of dust and butterbur sprouts appear, my mind automatically drifts to my usual campsite.
At such times, my wife asks, "Are you going solo camping again this year?" and encourages me. I try to hide my excitement and nonchalantly carry my gear out of the storage shed.
Freed from my family, as I gaze at the bonfire alone, I suddenly wonder if they've eaten dinner, or if they've taken a bath. The more alone I am, the more I think about my family.
A fondness for my family, which I didn't feel when we were together, radiates from deep within me.
At the same time, it is a moment to be alone, confront my inner self, and reflect on whether I am on the right path as a man, a husband, and a father.
A night of solo camping is a coexistence of personal freedom and solitary loneliness.
I need solo camping to confront myself and remember the importance of my family.
・Impact on your wife
After spending such a romantic night, I return home,
My wife greets me calmly, and life returns to normal as if nothing happened. She might say, "You're back already?" deflating my good intentions, but I try my best to keep my spirits up and smile.
However, perhaps even my wife felt refreshed and liberated from me. When my wife goes shopping, I usually go with her to carry bags, but sometimes she tells me, "It's okay, I'll go alone."
While I feel a little lonely, I sometimes imagine she feels the same way I do when I go camping. Perhaps my wife is also reflecting on herself while choosing lettuce.
I want to believe that. Speaking of which, my wife sent me a goodnight message.
・Impact on children
When I return from camping, my children eagerly ask, "Was it fun? Were there any bugs?" and I feel an urge to hug them.
My son, who hates bugs and always refused to go camping, suddenly said one day, "Take me with you."
Apparently, he was influenced by a YouTuber. I choose a well-maintained campsite with as few bugs as possible and research recipes that my son would enjoy.
This time, it's a camping trip for just the two of us, without my wife. My son and I set off on a Saturday when the heat had considerably subsided.
I gradually let my son, who usually does even less than I do at home, help out a little, so he can experience the fun of camping.
We stop to buy supplies, but what we'll make is a secret until we arrive.
While teaching him how to pitch a tent and start a fire, we talk as we usually do. Then, my son suggests, "Let's make a bonfire."
The flickering flames soothe my heart as if massaging it. The awkwardness I felt earlier gradually subsides, and my spirit leaves my body, making us feel closer.
I listen as if I'm not, to his murmurs that he wants me to hear. A large log crackles, and I come back to myself, saying, "Shall we go to sleep now?" and we head to bed earlier than usual.
My son, who usually can't take his eyes off his smartphone at home, didn't touch it at all while camping. I think that means he truly enjoyed camping.
The next day when we returned, he excitedly told his mother about it. My wife simply said, "Thank you" to me.
It seems I wasn't wrong as a father.
・Opportunity to try family camping
・Let's start solo camping!
As I've written so far, I believe that couples sometimes need time to be alone with each other.
Once you are alone, you will feel unexpectedly lonely, but that's how much you'll realize the importance of family.
Camping with a father and son, or a mother and daughter, or any same-sex pair, is also a good thing.
You will feel the greater presence of the family who is not there.
It's not good to go out alone every week or every month, but if you or your wife feel overwhelmed, gently ask, "I'd like to go camping."
I think the tangled threads will gently unravel.
・Let's start family camping!
The camping knowledge you learn through solo camping will be useful when you go family camping.
Just as solo camping contributes to family harmony, family camping also contributes to family harmony. If your family becomes interested in camping, why not try going on a family camping trip once in a while?
