So you think you can camp?

I wasn’t expecting our trip to Lake Ann Camp to be super relaxing. Afterall, how relaxing could a 10 hour van ride with a toddler be? And, with your spouse gone on a river for 2 of the 6 days… leaving you to be sole entertainer in a “foreign land”…things can get interesting. {to say the least} And, while this trip in many ways has not been relaxing – or easy – in some ways it has been surprisingly refreshing. And my thirsty, weary, lonely soul has been in great need of that refreshment. Before I go into all the GOOD, I should paint a word picture for you of the BAD so you can fully appreciate where I am coming from.

Sunday morning: Arrive to the church at 8am to greet our teens and load the van. Brad got home from his previous week of camp exactly 15 hours earlier. No time to review his week away or even take a breath. Load the van and go.

Sunday evening: Arrive at Lake Ann Camp. 2 minutes later right before we unload… Ava vomits everywhere. Ev-RE-where. I rush the kids out of the van so I can do cleanup – she just keeps puking. {I’m suspecting she’s a car sick kiddo…like I get} Please note – I am NOT good with handling such things. I get shaky and nervous and ill just thinking about it. Thankfully I was wearing my big girl pants and with my hubby and a friends help – we got the kid and the disgusting car seat out of the van. And can I just say, the makers of car seats do not consider puke cleanup when making them. So. Many. Little. Nooks. Long story short…I spent the rest of that night cleaning up Ava, getting her to bed, then scrubbing everything else.

Monday: Adjusting to camp life. Ava takes a 1 hour nap. Only. Locks herself in the bathroom with the toilet and daddys’ toothbrush {use your imagination on what happened there}. We broke in by tearing apart a plastic fork and using a tine. Or, whatever they are called. Later that day she would attempt to “run away” down the lane. Silly me for thinking she really could just play on the porch by herself.

Tuesday: Everyone got gooood sleep the night before. Praise God! This day would hold more gross kid stuff. Ava was still adjusting and ended up getting really sick {the other end} at the lake. I was on my own at this point as Brad was gone… and, completely horrified about what to do. WIDE OPEN in front of everyone! I won’t go into details but… a sheet was destroyed, her bathing suit… and, I hate pampers swim diapers. And I’m fairly certain a few choice college-aged counselors within view of this disaster will now wait an extra long time before having kids of their own, Hmph! The day ended on a lighter note watching her dance to the praise tunes in chapel. My girls got some rhythm!

Wedsnesday: Not too shabby. Ava found the sand volleyball court while most of the sand found her face…and eyes. And a fire ant found my left foot twice. Lots of finding today.

So… what was the good?

Well, I’m finding that with every mini-adventure/disaster this week that I become a little more of a mom genius. Wisdom is power people! I’m feeling totally confident on how to treat ant wounds, distract a toddler on a 12 hour trip, scrub sand from a squirmy toddlers hair, change blow outs somewhat discreetly on a beach, use my “stern warning” voice, show extra patience even though inwardly I just want to scream and be the real baby…and yes, even scrub vomit out of teeny tiny nooks with my nicely manicured fingernails. {gulp} Which by the way… the French tips now look anything but manicured. Ah well…all in a days work I guess.

Then there’s nature. I love it. I always have. And I had forgotten just how nice it feels to sit and listen to crickets chirp, cicadas buzz, trees sway in the breeze and walk barefoot in the dewey morning grass. It’s excellent. I feel so alive watching these black squirrels chase each other or hearing this strange bird call right outside our cabin door. It’s like a different world here, slow, calm, tranquil. I’ve been soaking in the smell of pine trees, wild flowers and fresh air. It’s refreshing – straight from God and His diverse creation and there really is nothing better to me. This morning I read a chapter in Psalms that 1) reminded me of Thanksgiving and 2) was just perfect for where I am now, today, because… that’s what matters – one day at a time.

“…You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance.They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered with grain;they shout for joy, they also sing.” Psalm 65:8b-13

Refreshment is always there… I just have to look for it.