Once again, the weather forecasters seemed to agree we would have a wet weekend, with 80 percent coverage in some areas. What they couldn’t agree on was the timing. Clearly, other campers were deterred by the dire warnings. But we pressed ahead, knowing that being holed up in Cloud 9 would be as good or better than being holed up at Hampshire.

As it turned out, with the exception of a few steady showers, we enjoyed delightfully sunny days and cool, clear nights in an almost camper-free park. Sometimes, it pays to follow your intuition. The mid-August break in our typically sizzling summer was such a welcome relief that we decided to stay on Sunday night. That may not seem like such a big deal, but the logistics involved can get complicated, especially when having to report to work at 8 a.m. on Monday.

Throughout the weekend, we enjoyed some great grilled foods, long walks with our doggies, thoughtful conversations about our lives and our love, and a peaceful calm punctuated only by the sounds of birds calling through the forest. Pure bliss!

We had an unexpected “moment” while listening to some sappy Country song about a father and daughter’s special relationship. Jon said simply, “I’ve never felt special,” and that unleashed a torrent of tears and a long talk about childhood memories and the lasting impact on our adult relationships.

Time doesn’t heal all wounds. And all our efforts to compensate merely conceal our vulnerable hearts.

We don’t envy parents. They’ve got a difficult balancing act. On the one hand, they need to instill the “specialness” of their children, and on the other hand they need to emphasize that their children’s setbacks and struggles are not unique. Raising children to be good citizens of the world is a task best left to people other than ourselves. We don’t think that makes us selfish but realistic. We don’t seem to have the genetic predisposition.

Our Sunday night extended stay set us up for relocating to the next weekend’s campsite a few days early, meaning we’d have a full week of sleepovers in our tiny home. We suspect we’ll pull the plug on our brick-and-mortar house some day and become full-timers. For now, it’s not possible. But some day…