Roughin' It

I have a house, and I work quite hard in order to continue to keep a roof over my head...as I'm sure you all do. You know what I mean. And this week, I can tell you, I have really been questioning why I'm working so hard for a stupid roof, and I've been questioning whether it's worth it.

So I'm going to go out into the woods somewhere, and I'm going to pretend, with a bunch of friends, that we don't have houses.

That's right...we're going camping.

I haven't gone camping since I was a kid. I remember an incident when I was very young in which I was begging Mom and Dad to take me camping...it sounded lick such a fun idea! We had a nearby campground and although Mom grumbled, Dad was willing and he went on ahead to try to set up the tend. I think he messed it up, though, because when we arrived later Mom had to help him re-do it.

We used to have this red lantern which they hung from what seemed to be the impossibly high tent pole in the center, and I remember there being room for 4 sleeping bags and the dog. I think we went home the next day.

I also had to go on a camping trip with my Dad once with some group, and he had to kill a spider which crawled out of that same lamp which hung from the same tentpole. And then the next day I went fishing for crawdads and I still have a picture of me holding one of the creatures on a hook.

And girl scout camp? We slept on bunks in spider-infested cabins, and went to the bathroom in spider-and-bat-infested outhouses. I literally did NOT go to the bathroom all weekend and when I got home I think I went poty for a day straight. Mom was amazed.

When I was in my teens somewhere- mid-to early teens, I had some relatives who lived in a State Park because my uncle was the Park Ranger there. We spent a lot of time there and they had this awesome yard, and trails, and the like. So my cousins and I set up the tent on the edge of the woods in their spacious back yard and we roasted marshmallows and after awhile, went to sleep to the sound of the screech owls singing their eerie, spine-tingling tunes.

It was about half my life ago, and now I'm going again. The cool thing is, though, that I get to take one of my dogs- the German Shepherd, and I found someone to take my greyhound for the weekend.

So I guess I just have a favor to ask of all of you. As we go out into the wilderness of Wisconsin to enjoy the breeze off of Lake Michigan and the cliffs that border it, and as we travel between our homes and there and back, please keep us in your prayers.

God bless you all and have a wonderful and blessed weekend!