Camping in the Rain

Tent camping, being pregnant, and rain do not mix well. Every summer, we pack up the camping gear and forget to bring a tarp that doesn't have a hole in it. And on nearly every camping trip I can remember, we experience campfire-frustration. I forgot to pack newspaper to start the fire with, but we did have "fatwood." It worked, but the conditions were so damp we had trouble getting that stuff to light sometimes. Then we bought firewood from the campstore that must have been cut while it was raining. Though it seemed dry to the touch, and it had deceptively been sitting in a covered shed, it would not burn.

Then there was the rain. Every night it rained on us, which was fine. I like hearing the rain from inside our tent. It was a gentle, soft rain that apparently is pretty common in southern West Virginia. The grass and trees were incredibly green. But on the day you decide to pack up, rain is the enemy. My husband was soaked by the time we finally had everything loaded up.

Lest you think the whole trip was awful, I better get on to some of the positives. We camped at Pipestem, West Virginia, which was way back in the woods and hills. It was quiet, yet there were many things to do. We took a tram down the mountain to a river, where we did some fishing. I won't speak too much about our family's ability to catch fish, other than to say this: its a good thing our camp menu doesn't rely on us catching fish, or we'd starve. The best part about seeing the river was our boat building competition. My sons love to build "boats" from bark, sticks, leaves, etc. We launch them and see whose can stay afloat the longest or go the furthest. I tried a new tactic by lashing two sticks together with a vine to create a raft of sorts, then attached a twig with a few leaves to be a sail and catch the wind. This little boat actually went the distance, beating my youngest son's and my husband's boats! It floated through some rapids and finally out of sight!

Camping is a great time to bond with your family. We sat around our wimpy campfire and I read to them some cowboy poetry. We also tested our Bible knowledge by reciting the 10 Commandments and then discussing them. After campfire time, we crawled into the tent, which was covered with daddy long legs (on the outside - yikes!), to play a round of Clue or Yahtzee. Those are probably our family's favorite board games.

When we got home, I called my dad to "report back in." I always did that with my mom, but now I will be calling dad. I had a long afternoon to myself when we were camping to write in my journal some thoughts about her. Reading C.S. Lewis' book, A Grief Observed, has been helpful to me.

Another book I have been fascinated with is Sign With Your Baby. You can actually begin to communicate with your 7 month old baby with sign language!!! At 7 months, you can teach them signs (using American Sign Language) for things like: milk, eat, more, and others that help the baby to communicate. I look forward to trying this with our baby.

Time to fetch the clothes from the washer and throw them in the dryer. After the laundry is done, this old house will be back to its pre-camping state!!

Rejoicing,
because its good to be home again,
Marla