I enjoy camping. No, seriously. Being in the military gives me a whole new perspective on camping. In fact, many of my colleagues can’t understand the pleasure I get from camping. I explained to them that camping is not the same thing as going to the field with the Army. No matter how bad camp food is, it beats eating Army rations. For those of you who have never experienced this exquisite cuisine, allow me to give an analogy. Imagine eating dry cardboard painted in various colors to represent the four food groups. Now imagine subsisting on this fare for a week. Camp food sounds pretty good right about now, doesn’t it?

Other elements of camping strike a more poignant tone with me, such as burning marshmallows over a fire and tying siblings to trees in the middle of the night. Ah, those were the golden days! So as spring creeps up on us, I find myself checking my tent for holes and wandering through the Coleman lantern section of the department store. And I can’t wait to make my kids endure this fun-filled tradition.