Camp with Mom is going great. We decided to extend it by two days because the weather’s been amazing. 🏕️ Only catch: it’s hot . Like, sweating-in-the-tent hot. But Mom’s loving it, so I’m leaning into the chaos. PC time has turned into “find shade and drink cold water” time. Send ice packs. And bug spray. 😅 Miss you — see you when I’m back (and showered).

That night, the fire was our center. Mom hummed an old camp song while she stirred the stew, and I traced constellations by the embers. The laptop — a small, battered machine I’d insisted on bringing to download photos — sat too close to the flames for a while. It began to heat like a trapped bird, the fan whirring hard as the processor fought through the glow of opened tabs. We moved it to a cooler spot on a flat rock, propping the lid so air could flow beneath. Mom suggested closing unused programs and dimming the screen; her calm practicality made the laptop’s problem seem trivial compared to the quiet of the forest.

Some fun activities that families can do while camping with mom include: