Feral brawling revisited

Last fall we took the kids down to the pizza farm on a September evening and the boys loved it- they ran around in the dark playing tag, chasing kittens, running wild.  When we returned and got snuggled into warm beds Eli said something along the lines of how much he loved it and how it made him feel like a feral brawler.  He admitted that the did not know what the term meant, just that it seemed to fit the situation.  Of course it did.  We took some city kids to the country and released them into the ultimate childhood pastime- running free in the night. They reveled in the freedom of it, felt the release, and at some point started rolling all over each other in their enthusiasm.  Hence the brawling.  We returned to the pizza farm again this fall, with a smaller group, and the results were the same- maybe a little less brawling this time, but as soon as the car stopped in the glowering dark, the boys tumbled out and were hotfooting it after a pack of kittens.  It was, once again, lovely.   It's just kind of far away, and only open on Tuesdays- so not super accessible.

Today we did the next best thing- we took the kids out to Camp St. Croix on a beautiful fall day.  Our boys, plus the three little NeskeMoens, had the run of the camp while the parents helped split wood.  They all have spent a good number of weeks out there as day campers, and some of them have now graduated to overnight campers and their level of ownership is pretty lovely.  They jumped out of the car and were off- playing on the A-field, creating structures in the woods, laughing and playing and without (direct) adult supervision for about 3 hours.  They returned to us when we called at the end of the afternoon- dirty and tired and grinning.  I don't think there was any brawling today, but I definitely saw something feral about them.  If I remember correctly, the definition of feral is to 'return something to it's more natural state'.  I love our city home- I love walking to their school, biking to work, being close to the dentist and doctor and grocery and farmer's market and park- but the kids need the time away from others, in the woods, without adult planning and supervision.  They need this time so that they can grow straight and true and tall- full time citified life makes you feel a little stunted every now and then.