We got home late Sunday afternoon, but I just got caught up on sleep this morning.

The kids got a true taste of tent camping. Of all our camping party, spread across five sites, only one of us seemed to have heard a prediction of thunderstorms for Saturday night, and she didn’t share it with us. So about 4:40 a.m. Sunday we were surprised by the sound of thunder.

Find the flashlight. Tarp over the storage bins and the gear on top of them. Fold the chairs and stash them under the truck; toss the bags of food inside. Tie down the tent flaps.

Shortly after we returned to bed, our children stirred. Scoot a little away from the tent walls, I said, and go back to sleep. Everything will be fine.

The thunder was long and loud, even more so than the twice-daily racket from the nearby airport. Around 6:30 a.m. the dripping on my knee began. My son muttered about a drip, and I repeated the order to move toward the center.

When it came time to gather and pack, the damage was light – a few damp edges on pillows and sleeping bags. If we had anticipated the weather and put a tarp over the tent, I doubt we would have had even that.

At the moment, the tent is up in my side yard for drying and zipper repair. I would just as soon take it for Labor Day, but my daughter is protesting. The camper is roomier, she says, and it smells like camper.
Anyone know where I can find a “new camper” air freshener to hang in the tent?

This post originally appeared on ourMidland.com, the online home of the Midland (MI) Daily News. Republished with permission.