Last week when I wrote about making coffee with lemon water it reminded me of the times when the family camped and had campfires. The campfires came first. Often, we went up on our hill. There was a spot where the trees opened up into a nice spot for a campfire. I remember when Todd had a friend come with animals for him to treat and we went up on the hill for a fire. What a nice evening. At that point we all came down to go to bed.

The children camped with friends up on the hill too. They came down for breakfast. I recall one morning when I made pancakes because that was all I had enough to make with what I had in the house. That morning, we must have had eight extras for breakfast.

Sometimes the kids camped up on the hill by my sister-in-law’s. They took the three-wheeler up there. We never worried about what went on because the kids were always close as were their friends.

Fast forward a few years and the children and their spouses were back home. Jill lived on the little farm and Todd lived in a trailer down the road. He eventually moved to the main farm house where he kept his animals.

Campfires alternated between the two places. Sometimes we were by Jill’s house and sometimes we were by Todd’s. There were two little ones by then so that meant taking a lot of extra gear. When we were by Todd’s they took a portable playpen out by the fire. As the little ones grew, we planned accordingly.

One night I had been out – I think to the hospital gala pouring coffee. When I returned home, I changed my clothes and went to join the kids by the campfire. Preston came running as fast as he could when he saw me. I scooped him up and carried him back. That night it was hot dogs on sticks over a fire, then s’mores. Would you believe I never had a s’more until we camped here?

Next came the building of the pond. Now we camped down by the pond. The children and grandchildren all swam in the pond before we ate. Meanwhile, the fire was getting ready to barbecue. We also had to pitch the tents. That was best done when there was still natural light.

My children grew up learning to appreciate what fun we could have at home. There was never much time for us to get away. We made our own fun.

I certainly cannot tell about all of the nights that we camped. When we were by the pond we went to sleep listening to the bullfrogs. The first night for me was always a challenge. I had trouble falling asleep with the noises. By the second night I did better.

We always had plenty of food. We used the four-wheeler to haul our gear to the site. Since I was the oldest, I got to ride most of the time.

I had a lot of wood in my garage. I gladly contributed some of that to make our fire since I no longer burned wood in the house. The kids came up to load it into the back of the four-wheeler.

It was so peaceful sitting down by the pond. There were no phones. Oh, I guess the kids probably had phones at that point but it was a joy to get away from them. I still feel that way today. Although I have a portable phone there are many times that I do not take it with me. I like being out of touch!

I think fondly of those cookouts. The grandchildren enjoyed being together as well as camping. It was a chance to unwind. It made for a very pleasant weekend.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell. Contact her at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.