theMadCamper.com

One Mom’s War on the Indoor Lifestyle!

Hi I’m Suzanne Delzio, the Mad Camper.

When, a year after we separated, my ex spent a small fortune going to Russia to acquire a bride (no joke), I decided it was time I picked up a lust-object of my own: a rough and ready, sleek and sexy Fleetwood Sequoia, one of the biggest tent trailers you can buy.

“You didn’t even think about this!” my friend scolded from the front step of my 24-foot, 5,400-pound fun-factory that—even completely collapsed—stretched higher than my hairline.

“You just went out and bought it! Didn’t you!”

Yeah? So?

“How are you going to hook this thing up and pull it with a minivan? A MINIVAN!”

I reassured her that I’d talked the numbers and weights over with the salesperson and everything would be just fine.

“And which numbers and weights are those?” she asked.

The big ones?

She rolled her eyes. “How you’re going to pull this off by yourself is beyond me. Camping is hard work!”

I cringed. What had I gotten myself into?

As a single mother with no immediate family nearby, I felt an urgent need to congregate with other families so that my son, then 9, and daughter, then 6, could see good men in action: changing diapers, wiping noses and—okay—playing basketball and heaving the bikes onto the bike racks.

Where initially I was concerned that as a single, I wouldn’t be prime target for inclusion in others’ family camping, I quickly had my phone ringing.  And the people I began camping with were cool: they let their kids face plant in the sand and scream into the woods, throw rocks, get filthy and even eat the baked potato that rolled under the picnic table.  In other words, they let their kids express their wild natures, something frowned upon in our increasingly button-downed world.  Hallelujah!

Filled with tips and suggestions, this  blog will provide strategies for getting kids outside as often and easily as possible.  We’d also like to go into the fascinating topics of child development (e.g. how can the teenage quest for identity merge with the outdoor life?), technology and camping, political movements like No Child Left Indoors act inspired by Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods and the mental and physical health risks of a sedentary, indoor life disconnected from our natural roots.

Disclaimer or Claimer, as it may be: No photos of children’s faces or children’s actual names  will ever be posted on this site.  I will refer to my 13-year-old son by an Indian name I’ve assigned him– Trees Make Me More Bored—and my daughter by her Indian name—Can We Stay 20 Days? The two have very different goals, skills and likes, which can make camping a challenge.  Hopefully, together, we can all benefit from shared experiences!  As you can gather from the above photo, the site aims for a casual, fun tone. In other words, I may offend someone, sometime. Sorry in advance.  We do reserve the right to block spam, obnoxious/inappropriate comments and anything that doesn’t benefit the community of parent campers out there. Constructive criticism? Fire away!

Eventually, we will welcome guest posts. We’d love The Mad Camper to act as a repository for parents who long for a rich and healthy life connected to nature for their children and themselves. If you have a question or concern, feel free to email me at suzanne@themadcamper.com

Join us!