And My Father Dwelt in a Tent



At least, that's what the boys would say--hey, it's one of the few scriptures I've memorized, so I like to quote it whenever I can. My friend Brent (and his boy, a friend and peer of Aaron) picked up WeThreeBoys after work on Friday, and we drove to Fishermens Bend, about 30 miles east of Salem, for a father-and-son campout. Even though temperatures were hovering in the 90's for most of the day, it felt refreshing to spend so much time in the open air (although it was noticeably cooler away from the valley, especially near the Santiam River).

The boys showed off their personalities like I would have expected:

  • Aaron immediately found friends to play with and was literally running around playing games until about 11:00 p.m. At one point he found me at the tent and told me he was having trouble breathing, but he was fine after taking his asthma medication. Most of the kids were strangers to him and probably a few years older, but that has never stopped Aaron from socializing and having a good time. I honestly think that Aaron had the time of his life--literally.

  • Edward's first intuition was to go exploring by himself, so he and I walked along several different paths along the river and throughout the campsite (all the while trusting that Aaron would be fine--and he was--playing with his friends back at camp) and playing on the playground. Even though Ed seems to prefer playing alone, all the kids know him and take every opportunity to say hi to him. I think of him as the nonchalant three-year old celebrity of the neighborhood and our church.

Brent had brought a tent big enough to sleep a whole squadron of soldiers, so he let us squat in one half of it. Edward slept peacefully through the night, but Aaron was doing 360's on his back and ramming his head or feet into my gut for much of the night.

In the morning Edward and I ate breakfast together (which the leaders provided) while Aaron immediately picked up where he left off the night before. We packed up and left for home around 10:30 a.m.; we all shared a good time together, but we were also ready to return home and rest.

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