The Great Outdoors

I went camping. Not a monumental thing I know, but it is if you know me. I am not an outdoorsy person. I wasn't raised that way, believe me. We camped often and I spent my days out of doors, coming in only when I was called.

However, I've become a bit of a priss. I do not like to be dirty, touch dirty things nor be outside. I like my nature in nice neat packages called play parks, my favorite is the one with wifi, or perhaps on a nice restaurant patio. I do not enjoy peeing outside, hiking, fishing, sleeping on the ground, bugs, etc...

Or so I thought. I had the best time. I'm sure that the company on the trip made a huge difference in how much I enjoyed myself. We went with a group of families from our Sunday School. The girls had so very much fun playing with their Sunday School friends, hiking, fishing, and jumping into what must have been the freezing waters of the cove. They sat around their first campfire, that was not in a backyard, ate burned marshmallows between chocolate and graham crackers, and slept on the ground for the first time.

I went hiking, watched my girls fish, and had the joy of eating grilled burgers and hot dogs and sitting around a camp fire while the kids played a safe distance away. I did not sleep on the ground, I slept on an air mattress, but I do wish I'd brought a second blanket. I woke to the sound of birds playing in the trees, and had camp coffee.

I'd forgotten just how amazing nature is, and how much I love the world God made and how relaxing it can be.

It is amazing the things from our childhood we leave behind as an adult thinking that we don't or won't enjoy them anymore.