A defining moment

There comes a time in everyone's life as a parent where they realize that a child is ascending towards growing up.
I had one of those moments on Friday.
Travelling to Chippewa National Forest to go camping, I had the van packed to the ceiling, a trailer full of stuff behind it, two dogs and just enough room for my future step daughter and son.
A few summers ago I took them and their mom camping for the first time. At that time Kim and I did all the work. Unloading, setting up the tent, building the fire, cooking, etc.
On Friday, the kids and I headed out ahead of Kim who had to work. When I got there I began unloading. The first item of business was to set up the tent and the way the sky was looking I thought it might rain.
I knew I could not raise the large portion of the tent by myself and Kim would not be there for another hour or so. I asked Riley who is 12, to help. He not only jumped at the chance but actually caught some of my mistakes in setting up the structure. In the past few months he has really started to take responsibilities like helping with the tent more seriously. It made me feel proud that he has been paying attention to what we do and that he wanted to help out. And that has rubbed off on his sister, Veronica, 9, who also pitched in without being asked.
I said to his mom later that evening, "They are starting to grow up and someday are going to make great teachers for their kids."
–Until then, Ken