Weaving wilderness traditions into your family’s story

 

When I was younger, my parents took us every year to Uncle Bud’s cabin.

The cabin was tucked deep into the woods of northern Wisconsin.

A place where the maintained highways we started on gradually faded into dirt roads and the tended farmlands faded into untamed wilderness.

The get-togethers at Uncle Bud’s were sort of an extended family reunion on my dad’s side.

There were no restrictions on who was welcome. The cabin home was open to extended family and whoever they brought with. I love that feeling of invitation.

And Uncle Bud’s kitchen was always bursting with as much food as anyone’s heart contented.

When you walked in, you were enveloped into an aroma and inviting atmosphere like none other.

My parents tell me they had every meat available from duck to pork, but I’m sure I just grabbed a burger and ran off.

I remember a screened-in porch where all the kids tended to gather and play like we’d always been best friends. We were all probably related somehow, but had no idea how and it didn’t matter.

It wasn’t long before we made our way outside for long walks through the color-changing forest. There were trails everywhere and I just remember the smell of fall leaves and the colors and the expanse.

We often accompanied grandma through the woods, where we came across several abandoned cabins and trailers.

We always peeked inside and wondered at the stories there and the previous inhabitants.

I remember peering through open windows to cabin floors littered with fall leaves and a random fork here and exposed bedspring there.

Places you could definitely plot a horror story in.

Have you ever come across abandoned houses and wondered what was inside?

Yeah, we got to explore those.

I remember coming to a pond with a canoe where our dad once rowed us out to a little island and explored that too. Apparently, the island was a boy scout camping destination.

 

A few times, I brought my best friend along on the trip.

She and I spent hours exploring and pretending and hiding and seeking.

One time we were sure we spotted a ghost. We can both tell you the details of that to this day.

Another time, my grandma offered to stay overnight with us at the cabin, but someone’s mention of coyotes and bears gave me too much of a scare to stay.

 

A few years later, I hear, Uncle Bud got very sick and his kids took over the cabin and the reunions stopped.

 

The longing for the wilderness

But my memories of that place tugged harder and harder at my heart every year.

That experience and those memories were major contributors to developing my love of nature.

An integral lead-up to Forest Bathing Central itself!

Now, I don’t normally get swept into the longings of nostalgia, but my memories of Uncle Bud’s had me so tightly gripped by the heart, that I couldn’t just let those memories die.

Once my own son came along, I started to really think about how our everyday and special activities formulate the basis of his own memories.

I started to think: What fond memories do I want my own children to remember when they grow up?

Ah, one of a parent’s greatest responsibilities and opportunities. Helping formulate a child’s memories.

I know for sure I want nature to be an integral part of those memories.

 

How we created our own wilderness traditions

So, I started thinking about how I could recreate some of the elements of those October traditions from Uncle Bud’s with my own children.

So, I started to plan yearly cabin trips for our own family.

First, I hopped on HomeAway and AirBnB to find a cabin in the woods.

We found one amazing place a short half-hour ride from home, but once our second baby came along, the steep ladder loft became a bit too dangerous.

So, we found another place a bit further from home, 1 full mile off the road, with modern amenities, a trout stream, giant picture windows, woods everywhere, trails and some very kindred hosts.

This is where my own family’s memories begin.

It’s perfection.

We’ve taken a weekend every October for the past three years to stay there.

 

 

I try to fill the cabin with the smells of good food.

And wrap us all in comfy blankets and slippers.

And we all tuck in the well-heated cabin at night to watch movies with tea and popcorn.

During the day, we often step outside the door and take lots of walks on the trails and down to the stream.

We build campfires and gather bits of nature.

 

When we head home on Sunday after languishing over breakfast and a slow morning, we feel fully slowed and filled with fresh autumn air.

 

Other wilderness tradition ideas:

I’ve also built a few other traditions for my children around nature and the wilderness:

• Every year, we go to a friend’s huge bonfire with tons of food and people and a kids Halloween scavenger hunt through the dark woods.
• In August, we always have a Perseid picnic. It’s a fun reason to stay up late, witness the natural wonder of a meteor shower, and experience all the unexpected details.
• We also just started having a fun full moon party in the summer. My daughter talks about this every time she sees a full moon now. I made a moon playlist on Spotify that we danced to under the light of the moon. We explored different ways to catch moonbeams and read moon-themed library books.

It was magical!

 

{Here’s a video version of my story}

 

I take these traditions very seriously.

These are the types of experiences that define our childhood and who we are!

I’m actively instilling this nature devotion into my children with our wilderness traditions.

 

 

I’m curious,

Does this inspire you to create new wilderness traditions with your own kids?

Does your family already have some wilderness traditions you could share?

I’d love to hear about them in the comments;)