This weekend, we do the unthinkable. As a family-bonding moment, we’ve rented a cabin in a wildlife refuge and are spending the weekend — ok, only one night — off the grid in a remote chalet, surrounded by wolves.
It was a Christmas present we gave our kids. The idea was to spend some quality time together with none of the everyday distractions. Friends had done it last near — a couple with no kids. It’s a wolf sanctuary with a few cabins they rent out so people can spend the night amid real wildlife.
We’re at that precious stage with our kids. Our youngest will graduate high school this year. And our oldest is at university but home this term for a coop job. So this is likely the last four months period where we will all be together.
Our kids are like most kids this age. They have their lives and their friends. They spend a lot of time on their devices, and getting uninterrupted quality time together can be challenging. At best, we get a one-hour board game or a nice restaurant dinner when we are not locked down. But as parents, we are thirsting for more.
But while we are looking forward to this night away with them, we are a little nervous. Our youngest is genuinely addicted to those electronics and her connections with friends. I wish this were not the case, but I also need to accept its reality. I can’t think of the last time she’s gone 24 hours without screen time or contact with friends. And we’ll all be sleeping in the same one-room cabin. But, again, she hasn’t had to sleep in the same room with us in ages. Even when we travel, we always get an adult and a kids’ room.
But assuming she can handle the disconnection from friends, it will be a fantastic moment to reconnect with her. We are, generally, lucky. For a teen, she’s pretty communicative with us, and she shares quite freely. But she’s at her best when we can really dive deep on things. We all used to love long car trips when we could have long conversations. Since covid, we have not really been able to do that. For us, we miss the connection. And for her, I think she misses — at some level — the ability to share with us and give our perspective.
These moments with our kids are so fleeting. I really hope tonight is as special as I think it could be. And, at the very least, I hope we don’t find ourselves driving to a wifi hotspot at 2am.
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Previously Published on medium
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The post Kids, a Cabin, Wolves, No WiFi… Can We All Survive? appeared first on The Good Men Project.