iPad ShmyPad – Treehouses are Better

It’s funny how when the electricity goes out at home, there is a collective bored sigh. The majority of the kids’ toys don’t require a plug or even batteries, but when power isn’t even an option, everyone gets worried about how in the world we will pass the time.

Then there’s the cabin. Every year we try and make it a point to stay in our church’s cabin for at least a night or two. It’s over 2 hours away, which is about as much of a road trip as my island kids have ever seen, and way up on a mountain, so the nighttime temperatures hover around 40 degrees. It’s like another world to them.

I came outside one morning to find Rush laughing hysterically and our dog barking. “Mom! Koa is barking out smoke!” Rush was amazed when he realized he himself was laughing out “smoke” too. The kids have only experienced steamy breath during our cabin trips so they associate the whole phenomenon with the cabin itself when they tell their friends about it. (“We are going to the cabin this weekend. It’s super far away. You have to wear a coat and socks and you can make smoke even without a cigar…”)

The cabin has a wood burning fireplace and gas stove, but no electricity. There is a 3 level tree house, a tire swing that you board from the top of hill and swing out until you are 25 feet above the ground, and the best sunset view I have ever seen. No one mentions the iPad, nobody asks why there is no TV, it’s interesting. Maybe because they know those things aren’t options, or maybe because the natural stimulation is more than enough, or maybe because they were too cold to put a coherent argument together so they decided not to bring it up.