Easy can be boring. How about trying to live like it’s 1799 for a weekend?

Thankfully, you don’t have to become a Civil War re-enactor or attend a Renaissance Fair to travel back in time. With a few simple changes, you can step into the past without leaving your home, whether you live in a big city or deep in the woods. The idea here is to spend a weekend without the normal conveniences of daily life, and see what it’s like when you strip life down to the very basics. It’s enjoying a simpler kind of weekend, and living for just a few days the way your grandparents or great-grandparents may have done. 

If you have kids or grandchildren yourself, this type of adventure is an absolute must. It’s the type of family get-together they will never forget, and the potential for silliness and fun is high. Not only is it fun to spend time living in more primitive conditions than you are accustomed to, it’s a reminder of the not-so-distant past and the very fleeting nature of comfort. It’s easy to omit “electricity” from a gratitude list … until you spend a weekend without it. Below are some ideas for your primitive or semi-primitive weekend. Take all, some, or none, as you wish. There is no right or wrong way to do this.

Pitch a tent: Sleep in a tent, whether you pitch it in your living room, your backyard, a friend’s or relative’s backyard, or a remote campsite in an established state or national park. If you can sleep outside, that is ideal, especially if you are far enough away from artificial light to see the fullness of the stars, and far enough from civilization to hear only nature.

Turn out the lights: If you are staying indoors, put tape over all the light switches and live by candlelight for a weekend. It creates an odd and magical type of aura to read, talk, sing, dance, work, play, and laugh by candlelight.

Turn off all devices: Bring out your guitars, drums, banjos, harmonicas, and any other instruments you have, and rely on these for your musical entertainment. Hold a talent show. Write a song together. Draw portraits of each other. Play card games, board games, and put puzzles together. Talk to each other, lol.

Cook over a fire: If camping outdoors, have a roaring bonfire, and then cook over the embers while the fire dies down. You can roast meat or vegetables, make a soup or stew, and even make traditional fry bread over a fire.

Pee in the woods: Yes, that’s right. You are an animal, just like the squirrels.

Copyright 2023 Kesel Wilson (entirely, 100% human-created)

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