Hello, I have a real estate feature in the New York Times about advice on buying a home to live in with your parents/adult kids. It's got some nice stories in it.  

I used to like camping pretty well but lately Steve has started taking the boys on an outdoorsy trip while I stay home, and it one of those things where I'm like "Should I feel bad about this or is everything perfect?"

I do feel a tiny bit sad when they're gone, but I also know that your brain plays a trick on you where you love your kids the most when they are not there. I sometimes look at photos of the boys lovingly while they are doing something less adorable in front of me.

I also feel sad, like, will I never camp again? Will I never relax my eyeballs, smell like a campfire, and adjust to the pace of outdoor life again? Will the boys think I am a priss who can't hang and that's why I stay home? Well frankly I guess the answer to that is "I don't care what they think that much I guess?" because I made my choice, and the choice was "stay home."  

This is all mitigated by the fact that I have discovered that I cannot tolerate two things: mosquito bites, and the sensation of bug spray. I feel like putting on bug spray is just signing up to take a night time shower, and please do not tell me about natural bug repellants.  

So that makes it easy. I know I do miss out on some wild outdoor time with the boys, although we have plans to have more together this summer as a family, but if staying home helps me achieve my goal of not showering more than once per day, then so be it.