Camping, Campfires, and the Puppy Bjorn
🌼 Date: Monday, June 29, 2026
⚡ Energy: Beach-camping cozy
💖 Status: Settled into campground life
🥰 Outlook: Traditions change shape, but the love stays
Today is all about camping at the beach.
Our annual trip with our camping group started about 25 or 30 years ago, and somehow, all these years later, we are still doing it.
Different campers.
Different schedules.
Different kids.
Different dogs.
Different versions of ourselves.
But the tradition is still here.
Every year, our group has evolved a little more.
We raised our kids together on these trips.
Our kids brought friends.
Then significant others.
Now there are grandkids running around, and a few of us have new additions of the four-legged variety.
Which means this year, Miss Maizy officially joined the camping crew.
And honestly?
She fits right in.
She does not seem to mind the big dogs, and after the initial sniff-and-greet inspection, they do not seem to mind her either.
Apparently five pounds of Yorkie confidence is accepted in the campground social circle.
Very important.
I brought our puppy Bjorn because I thought it might help keep little Miss Maizy warm while we are sitting around the campfire.
Yes, a puppy Bjorn.
Yes, like a baby carrier.
Yes, it is ridiculous.
Yes, it is adorable.
And yes, she absolutely loves it.
As long as she is sitting with her momma, she seems perfectly content with camping life.
Wrapped up.
Carried around.
Watching the campground world go by from the safety of her tiny royal pouch.
And of course, Gidget is still living her best camping life too.
She has done this before.
She knows the routine.
She understands the assignment.
Find the cozy chair.
Claim the blanket.
Look cute.
Accept admiration.
Repeat.
There is something really special about watching this tradition continue.
For years, it was kids running around, bikes everywhere, picnic tables pushed together, food spread out, laughter, chaos, and parents trying to keep track of who belonged to who.
Now it looks a little different.
Some kids are grown.
Some have kids of their own.
Some of our group is smaller.
Some parts of life have changed in ways none of us could have imagined.
But we still come back.
We still gather.
We still sit around the fire.
We still share food.
We still tell stories.
We still laugh.
We still make room.
And this year, we made room for Maizy.
By the end of the day, she was so relaxed that she fell asleep with her little head right on the picnic table.
Apparently campground life is exhausting when you are tiny, adorable, and responsible for being everyone’s emotional support supervisor.
This trip feels different for me this year.
Of course it does.
Cancer has changed my energy, my body, my routine, my packing list, my food, my drinks, my everything.
But being here still feels familiar.
The trees.
The salty air.
The sound of people laughing.
The campfire.
The dogs.
The friends who have known us through so many seasons of life.
The tradition.
I may be moving slower.
I may need more layers.
I may have protein powder in the camper instead of our usual snack explosion.
I may be wrapped in blankets with a puppy strapped to me like a tiny fur-covered heating pad.
But I am here.
We made it.
And we will be back next year to continue the tradition.
Because that is what traditions do.
They grow.
They shift.
They hold memories.
They make room for new ones.
And sometimes, they include a five-pound Yorkie in a puppy Bjorn, sitting by the campfire like she has been doing this her whole life.
Welcome to the camping crew, Maizy girl.
You fit right in.
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💗 Tina –
One Badass Day at a Time
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