What An Adventure

How was your long weekend? If you were stuck working – my condolences, but know that you are appreciated. I know it’s hard to work when everyone else is bragging about not working. (smile)

My family went camping this long weekend with my brother and his family.  Not really roughing it. They have a beautiful trailer.  It’s heated so we didn’t freeze when temperatures dropped, and it kept us dry and warm when it rained. Much more comfortable than our days of tenting.

Long weekends spent camping are like a gift from God. A reminder of what matters.  A reminder of what doesn’t.

The quiet.  The sounds of birds, the waves of Lake Huron hitting the beach.  The wind. The crackle of the campfire.  Kids laughing and talking instead of staring blankly at their phones.

It was just what this tired soul needed.

Yes, it was cold and there were multiple layers required to stay warm, even around the fire.  And yes, it did rain on Sunday.  It didn’t stop us.  We were cooking steak over the fire, with an umbrella over top.  Not for us as much as for the steak (smile)

I may have missed being able to take a hot shower, not having to walk to the bathroom, a comfy bed to sleep in, but the benefits far outweighed any of the cons.

I didn’t miss being stuck on an endless Facebook feed, scrolling mindlessly for hours.  I didn’t miss how it leaves you feeling irritated and sad.  I didn’t realize the powerful effect social media has on me until I was away from it for four days.  It was so nice to get away from it. I’m encouraged to avoid it even more now.  You don’t always realize how it gets into your thoughts, but all those messages, posts, memes, quotes and shares – your body is taking in the energy from it.  Mine does.  Not always so good. I didn’t feel the need to take pictures for the purpose of sharing on social media. I took pictures to remember, and to add to a scrapbook.

I didn’t miss routine.  I didn’t miss alarm clocks or rushing around.  I didn’t miss the busy.

I didn’t care about makeup or hair or what I was wearing and I was the happiest I’ve been in a long time. Letting go of that pressure feels surprisingly good.

There were lots of trails to walk.  The landscape was beautiful.  Nature coming to life.  We watched the water, the changing skies as the weather changed.

We sat by the fire, toasted marshmallows, made s’mores and made conversation.  We talked, we laughed and reminisced. It was so nice.

There were animals that paid us a visit. A porcupine was there to greet us on our first day.  I watched as an animal of some kind came through the trees, unsure if it was a raccoon or a skunk. And I was ready to run.  But, to our surprise, it was a porcupine. I’ve never seen one so close. We watched in awe, as he made his way across the back of the trailer and up the tree where he stayed the night. A chipmunk paid us a visit.  Right up close too. We fed him some peanuts and watched as he ran to enjoy the treats. There were a few snakes, that thankfully, scurried the other way as we walked the trails.

So many birds.  A beautiful American Star, so many Blue Jays, a orange headed blackbird. It was nice to just listen to them sing.

Sometimes you just need to get away from the everyday and do something that fills you up and reminds you of what matters.  Camping has that effect.

But, no matter how much I might love to camp, it sure is nice to come home and have that first shower and wash the stink off (smile) and sleep in your bed again.

It’s the best therapy for me and I’m so glad we got to experience it this weekend. We all need to take that break from the world and just be still.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan