The Forest, the saviour
” I am not bringing my Ipad” , Dana said, whilst we were packing the teepee: “You have to leave all your gadgets at home too.”
I couldn´t believe me ears! No Ipads? We had been on our way to the forest since returning from Turkey, but school and football got in the way. Suddenly they got two days off school, so we immediately decided to go. Best of decisions!
Why?
First of all, my brain is in overload. The concussion issue, so it gets full quickly. And with the past week being fully dominated by an excellend week of Nordisk Panorama drama in Malmö, I was past overload. I saw many really good docs and seminars, very important one´s too. I also met some great doc friends and we had a passable amount of wine and beer. SO…too much! When the girls told me they had two days off, a potential saviour!
As quick as we stopped the car, got out….silence. And the fresh air. It was raining. We immediately put up the teepee and started a fire. I wanted to teach the girls how to keep a fire alive over 2-3 days by not using too much fire wood. And continue their how-to-use-a-knife-and-axe-and-saw work. We collected firewood together and got the fire started. Raftarp, where we have been going for years, have changed dramatically in many ways since we first got here 10 years ago. It has become….like everything else. Controlled. I understand why, lot´s of not so well behaved people, but it has taken away the sense of freedom. But due to the rain, no people really.
I had some worries when staying two nights and a full day, they would becoe restless without the Ipads, but not at all. They immediately started playing football, playing different games and reading. But most of all, we had discussions and talked about everything from deep feelings to the next adventure.
It isn´t easy to neither find the energy or time in normal family time at home, because the girls are full of activities. Football, home work, friends and helping out at home, there´s very little energy left to have any deeper discussions.
The forest, the fire and the silence makes a huge difference. it is highly recommended for families where there´s no time or energy to talk! or any human being by the way!
We need to get out into the forest more when back in Skåne!
