Thursday, September 14, 2006

Camping

We’re going camping tomorrow and I can hardly wait. We’ll only be staying one night, but I’m already dreaming about everything I love about camping: the feel of crisp morning air on my face when I step out of the tent, watching the coffee boil over the fire, sticky, gooey s’mores, the sound of leaves dancing over my head, the way a campfire looks so awesome and powerful and beautiful at the same time, the stars as they show off their brightness in a way that can never be seen in the city.

I have so many good memories from my childhood camping days. There was the time I lost my shoe in some mud and got to go to a nearby mall to get some replacements- what a treat that was for a little kid! I’ll never forget that three-legged bear that visited our campsite- twice. Good thing our fearless mom was there to scare him off. (Dad was back home working that time. Of course if he had been there that bear would never have shown up. Strange things only happened when Mom was around.) I remember Seth (or was it Jonathan?) partially melting his sneakers as he tried to dry them by the fire. And, of course, I remember the fact that it rained every single time my family went camping.

Camping was always an adventure when I was growing up and I can’t wait to give my kids some great memories, too. Though I certainly hope bears and rain aren’t necessary requirements for good memories.

2 comments:

Barb said...

There must be something about losing shoes on family vacations. My family has a few stories like that.

And some of my best camping memories involve rain. I guess good weather is "unremarkable".

Jonathan said...

It was definitely me who melted shoes. I could tell the story, but I doubt it would make the situation sound any better.