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Nature Calls Again
My first experience camping, as an adult, is one of my most memorable times. You may be thinking, “Oh, how sweet, here comes a nice story of a beautiful getaway revealing the Lord’s mystical, beautiful forest. Well, think again. My first camping trip was exhausting, exhausting and exhausting. I took my children camping in the fall of 2002 with two of my friends, Kathy and CJ. Let me explain to you the 3 mistakes I made on this crazy adventure.
Mistake #1: My husband did not come! He had to work and was unable to be with us. I am a very independent woman, so, I saw no problem in handling this task without him. Definitely, not one of my brightest moments. Even though my friends tried to be helpful, like most children, they mainly wanted mommy to do it. The “it” didn’t matter just as long as I was the one doing “it.”
Mistake #2: My twins, Corey and Spencer, were 5 years old, Andrew was 2 years old and I was two months pregnant with my 4th son! For all those moms out there, I am sure you remember what happens to our bladders when we are pregnant. Any liquid that goes in must come out every 5 minutes. Using the facilities during the day was not as bad as having to go at night with a dark, pitch black sky. I was so freaked out about using the bathroom that my heart raced faster than a rabbit’s. I think I was more afraid of a creature greeting me than the possibility of meeting “Jason” in the woods. The fact that I had a miniature size flashlight guiding me and another light on the picnic table to make sure I found my way back, did not help. All I could think of was, “What if the light goes out? I’ll be lost in this forest forever.” It is amazing how sunlight reveals God’s glory in every tree, animal and insect but darkness makes us fear Satan’s presence in the same setting. Trees became shadows of perpetrators’, animal sounds became a mad pack of hungry wolves and bugs became very hungry.
Mistake #3: I shared a small tent with these children! Inside this cubby hole was an air mattress that was the width of the tent, therefore, leaving no room to walk next to it. We had to crawl on and off from the bottom. I was so afraid of waking the twins at night that I would slowly slide down like an inch worm until I reached the bottom. This would not have been a problem if the portable crib was not placed at the other end of the tent, causing the space between the two to be smaller than the chipmunks that scurried around our campsite. Trying to dress and take care of 3 little boys was extremely difficult, plus, you guessed it, RAIN! What does one do in a nylon igloo with 3 children that have more energy than Lance Armstrong on the Tour de France?
In conclusion, the lesson that I learned from this nightmare on Forest Street was, “Don’t go camping in a tent with 3 young boys while one is still baking in the oven.” I have since convinced my husband that we can make delightful memories in a Recreational Vehicle. We purchased a used RV and have had a few nice camping trips. The best part is I can roll out of bed and sit on the commode without Chip and Dale visiting.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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