The Tent in the Backyard

We'd planned a camping trip to the mountains this summer. When it was canceled, my kids were heartbroken. So we brought camping to the backyard.

We pitched the big tent on the lawn. We roasted hot dogs on the grill and made s'mores over a little fire pit my husband dug out by the fence. We told spooky stories with flashlights under our chins. My son insisted on "foraging," which meant picking mint from the garden.

When it got dark, we lay on our backs on the grass and looked up. Our yard isn't dark like the mountains, but we could see the Big Dipper, and a satellite crawling across the sky, and one shooting star that my daughter claimed and wished on.

We slept in the tent all night. A raccoon walked across our fence at three a.m. and stared at us. My son woke up and whispered, "This is a real adventure." We did it six more times before school started.