Camping

It was the middle of April and the flowers were just starting to bloom. The weather was getting warmer and the trees were blossoming. Mom and Dad decided to take the kids, Liam and Marek, camping for the first time to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. 

One nice, sunny weekend, they packed up some clothes and bathing suits. They packed up their tent and air mattress. They filled the cooler with food and ice. They packed a frisbee, some water guns and a deck of cards. Once everything was loaded up, the four of them could barely fit in the car.

Mom drove the family to the woods and they got out to pick their spot. The trees were so tall and the grass so thick. There was a large clearing next to a lake that reflected the bright blue sky. A gentle breeze carried the smell of freshly bloomed flowers to their noses, and the sun warmed the top of their heads.

“Liam would you like to pick a spot for our tent?” Mom asked.

After spinning around slowly to take in the scenery, Liam picked a spot under a large tree at the edge of the clearing. 

“That spot looks perfect. I’ll set up the tent. Why don’t you and Daddy go collect some wood for the fire?”

Marek sat on the ground playing with an animal themed board book while Mom worked on the tent just a few feet away. Marek was only two years old and barely talking yet, but mom could’ve sworn she heard him trying to say the animals’ names. 

After the tent was set up and the camp fire lit, the family cooked hotdogs on sticks over the fire. Mom and Dad shared some childhood camping stories. Marek babbled over his book some more, occasionally looking up and pointing into the distance. After dinner they roasted some marshmallows and made s’mores, which were Liam's favorite treat.

At night they were all laying on the ground gazing up at the stars, when Marek let out a happy giggle. They looked over to see him feeding a carrot to a little brown rabbit a few feet away.

“Bubby,” he said. 

“Look at you. That’s right, it is a bunny,” Mom said.

“Bye bubby,” Marek said as the bunny hopped off in the dark.

At bedtime, Dad read the family a book about magical woodland creatures. Marek smiled at all the pictures, and quickly fell asleep in his mom’s arms when the story was over. The four of them snuggled up on an air mattress and drifted off to sleep. 

In the morning, Mom made some bacon and eggs for breakfast. Then she sat with Marek and watched as Dad and Liam ran through the trees spraying each other with their water guns. Marek played with his stuffed squirrel and pointed at a tree, “Squil,” he babbled.

“That’s right, squirrels do live in trees,” Mom replied.

Marek waved at the tree and smiled. Mom didn’t see it, but a little black squirrel near the top of the tree waved back.

They spent the rest of the day swimming in the lake, playing card games, and teaching Liam how to throw his frisbee. Exhausted from such a fun filled day, they all piled into the tent after dinner. Marek grabbed the woodland creatures book and handed it to Dad. 

“Again, we just read this last night. Don’t you want a different book?” he asked.

Marek sat down in Mom’s lap and said, “Aminal book,” so Dad read the book again. Then once again they all snuggled under their warm blanket and went to sleep.

They were woken up in the morning by the bright sun shining on their tent and the noises of birds and other animals chirping and chittering nearby. When they came out of their tent, what they saw was unbelievable. All around them, standing between the trees and in the clearing, and sitting on low branches, were animals: dozens of birds and squirrels, a couple owls, raccoons and rabbits, a fox, and a family of deer. They all just stood peacefully watching as the family of four slowly exited the tent.

“Babe, what’s going on?” Mom asked.

“No idea,” Dad replied.

“This is so cool,” Liam said.

Meanwhile Marek toddled over to one of the deer, smiled and reached out his hand. The deer looked at him for a second, then lowered his head for the toddler to pet. Mom and Dad watched silently. Liam went up to the fox who backed away at first. Marek stumbled over to his brother and held his hand.

“Fox,” he said with the biggest grin.

The fox creeped forward again and nuzzled his nose into Marek’s tiny hand while Liam gently scratched the animal’s ear. Then a little blue bird flew over and landed on Marek's shoulder, singing a little song. The kids giggled and sang along and the birds overhead chirped as well. A raccoon ran up to the kids, stood on it's back feet, and held its front paws together begging to be pet. The boys happily abliged the little animal and then all the animals scampered back into the woods, disappearing.

After recovering from the shock, the family ate breakfast and talked about all the animals they had just seen. When they packed up to go home, the little brown rabbit that Marek had fed, returned and sat next to the car. Marek awkwardly picked up the bunny, slightly squishing it. The rabbit didn’t seem to care though, and instead looked at the parents with big longing eyes that matched the toddler’s. 

“Bubby go home,” Marek said. 

Mom and Dad didn't know what to say to that, so all four of them climbed into the car with the camping gear and went home with the bunny riding in Marek’s lap. Back home, they got a rabbit hutch and food for Bubby the bunny. Marek would play with him daily, and as he got older he would talk to the bunny. And sometimes Mom could swear that bunny was listening and talking back.