lessons learned in a campgroud

The first weekend school gets out, for the last 15 years of my life, I have gone camping with Maplewood Reformed Church (the church my hubby grew up in). It is a tradition I have grown to love and now pass on to my children. They have pony rides, frog races, petting farm and nature hikes. There is a small lake with a raft floating in the swimming area...


Well, If you are a camper at all, you know that every camping trip something is forgotten, something is lost and something, usually, is unprepared for.

There was the one summer I was so hot while packing for this trip I could not imagine I would need any cold weather gear so threw a few shorts and t-shirts in a duffel bag and headed up. Well, just because it is hot at 3:00 in the afternoon, does not mean it is hot at 3:00 in the morning. I froze ALL weekend.

This weekend was more of the same. I forgot my camera, I forgot my deodorant. Josh forgot his toothbrush. I packed every cold, warm and everything in between outfit any us could ever need, yet forgot Josh's bathing suit. We left a pack of hot dogs and a gallon of milk in the fridge. I remembered, though, a few key things, smores supplies and a good book.


I slept in a sandy sleeping bag with 2 little bodies pressed against mine. I ate all my meals in lawn chairs and watched bats and fireflies over the campfire. I did not shower till noon, sat under a tree at the beach, ate ice cream on an Adirondack chair on the camp store porch and listened to Andrew Peterson sing about love and family on an outdoor stage with the woods and a sunset as a backdrop.

The biggest lesson I learned this past weekend is this...If you put on suntan lotion, sit around a few hours, then take a shower, then spend the afternoon in the beating down sun, you get sunburned. Bad.