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Sunday, July 13, 2008

Randomness

A couple of comments to my camping post got me thinking about some kind of "zen of camping" thing--I really do like the outdoors, and feel at home there, although I admit to being a "fair weather camper." As much as it is fun to sleep outside and hike and do all that kind of stuff, I do like my showers and my conveniences, too. While we were out, we had a couple of conversations about people who are living in refugee camps, or other places where camping out is NOT a lark that you do for relaxation, but REALITY, despite the weather and ability to store food, and so on. When looked at that way, there is more than a tinge of classism going on with our choice to vacation by camping.

At any rate, I'm still glad we did it. And in terms of when to take your kids out (LLLB and Tia, this is for you), you have to do what is best for you, and you have to pray a lot that it goes well. Obviously there are people who camp with very small infants, and it works fine, but you should think about how you are going to handle going to a public restroom, which may get cleaned once a day, and where you are going to put the baby. Think about how you feel about mud and sand and mosquitos and sunburn, and plan accordingly. Our tent always looks like a complete disaster, in terms of clothes scattered everywhere, big honking sandy footprints from hiking boots (I've never been able to instill the "shoes off" rule in my tent), and whatever else, and I whine and moan about it every single time, but in reality, it meets our needs, and the kids sleep well. Be prepared to watch your kids play in the stream, or drop rocks into a hole, or invent a game of tag. Be prepared to teach them about elements such as fire and wind, and go to bed when it gets dark. Bottom line, if YOU have a good time, they will have a good time. I hope your trips go well.

In other news, several discussions with various doctors have just about gotten me convinced to try some sort of sleep drug, probably the one that begins with "A," as it is supposedly the least likely to become habit-forming. If nothing else, maybe it would allow me to sleep later on weekends, so I didn't get up with the chickens on Saturday and Sunday (I can't even blame the kids for this anymore, as they sleep later than I do!). Oh well, more to come.

Not sure what next week is going to bring. It will be about the only week of the summer that my boss and I are in the office together, so I will probably be pretty busy. If I don't get a chance to write, it's because of that. Take care!

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Camping trip redux
So for those of you who missed me (or even if you didn't), we were on vacation last week, camping in Maine and New Hampshire with my friend T and her family (which consists of her husband B and two sons, K1 (who is 6) and K2 (who is almost 4). This was our family's first extended camping vacation since our kids were born (we've done weekend camping trips with them, but nothing more than that).

The thumbs up part of our vacation:
- Very little rain--one night when we were staying in a house (whew!) and one slightly damp set-up as we arrived in New Hampshire, but other than that, sunny, clear and dry. Woot!
- T and I discovering that we really were quite similar in our camping techniques--both very willing to use up leftovers before starting on new food, both similar about levels of cleanliness (i.e., enough to be healthy, but not overly concerned about dirt or sand or what have you), etc.
- The kids absolutely hiking like little champs--two mile-long mountain climbs, complete with rock scrambles, and one 2-mile hike along the shore, with nary a complaint from any of them. Bunny even said after the second mountain climb "I'm sorry, but that hike was just too short for me."
- The realization that this really is an INCREDIBLY cheap way to vacation--I was amazed at how little money we spent--Really! (Obviously, we made up for it in camping gear, but that is another story). I took $200 cash with me at the beginning of the week and still came home with money left over. And while I will admit to the credit card taking a few trips out of our wallets, it was not excessive by any means.
Thumbs down parts:
- On day three of the trip I...wait for it...lost my digital camera. SOB! I was heartsick. The good news is that on a whim, when I returned home, I called the State Park in Maine where I thought I lost it, and it had been turned in. The woman very kindly offered to send it to me. Woot, again!
- I was a little disgusted with myself at how I sounded in talking to my children at times, but that is another post for another day.
- As fun as it was, this was not your typical relaxing vacation--there was always some kid having a bathroom crisis or emotional meltdown, or we needed to be someplace for a particular thing, and oh yes, p.s., it is true what they say that when camping, a woman's work is REALLY never done--no sooner would we have breakfast dishes cleaned up when it would be time to pack a lunch, and then have to wash those dishes because of bears and raccoons being everywhere...T and I were exhausted, and our husbands were of the more helpful variety!
- Due to a little over-zealousness in our planning, there was more driving than we had originally thought, and that was kind of a bummer, too. But it was nice to see both places (Acadia National Park and White Mountains National Forest). It just would have been nice to have more time in each place.
What I learned (or re-learned):
- I really, truly love camping and hiking, and I love watching my kids interact with the natural world. We have to integrate this into our life more. No excuses.
- Over the years, we have slipped into a sort of a routine in our vacationing, in that we have often been going to the same places. Seeing an entirely new place (Acadia) and a place that I had spent small amounts of time, but never a concentrated time period (White Mountains) made me realize (duh) that there is a whole big world out there, and I need to get out and explore it some more.
- In the same vein, I think I need to explore it by foot a bit more. This was a great week for exercise, since we were hiking and walking so much of the time. I really felt quite fit when I came home. Let's see if I can keep that up.
So that is the story. After much discussion, we have decided to go to Quaker camp again this year as a family, so it feels a bit like we are flush with vacations! We'll be leaving for Silver Bay in two weeks. Already the girls can't wait. Bunny especially notices how much the family dynamic changes for the better when we are out of our daily grind of work, errands, appointments and stress. And so I ask again...how can I make the vacation time of our life more like the "real" part of our life? I think I'm going to be sitting with this query for a long, long time.

Monday, July 07, 2008

Back from camping

I'm back from vacation--still figuring out what is what, shoveling through laundry, sterilizing the camping dishes, trying to plow through work e-mail and entertain the kids who are at odds and ends being home...

It was a great trip. I'll write more soon, and try to catch up on everyone's blogs. Not exactly sure when any of this is going to happen, but hopefully sometime this week.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Existential crisis?
My current mental state, in paragraph bullets:
- Last week I had a mini freak-out over purchasing some clothes--partly to do with my being between sizes for a particular catalog's clothes, so I couldn't tell what size I should be getting, but also because I was REALLY, REALLY pissy about the size that that was in the first place. I went ahead and bought them anyway, sort of secretly hoping they would be loads too big and I would be forced to return them (never mind the fact that this was going to leave me underprepared for the camping trip--vanity, after all...). Anyway, the clothes arrived yesterday. And...they fit great, and feel great. (Actually, for the shorts, I do need a belt, so perhaps all is not lost). Sigh. I know, I know. I should be happy that I have clothes that fit, and that I have enough food to eat, but damn...
- On that same riff, I've been more or less going make-up free for awhile. Not out of any specific need or want, just because I'm usually by myself in my office, and when I am running out the door in the morning, there really hardly seems to be a need to put make-up on just to sit by myself. I've kind of decided that I hate it. I see pictures of myself, or look in the mirror, and I don't like what I see. I look old. I know this is inevitable, but I guess I thought I'd have more time.
- DH and I are doing the ships passing in the night thing again, and it's a PITA. I commented to someone yesterday that I might as well be speaking Sanskrit for all he's hearing me and understanding what I am saying at the moment.
- We will never, ever be ready to leave on this camping trip. Period. End of story.
There. I wish I had something more deep or meaningful to report. But I guess I'm sort of self-involved at the moment.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Weekend? What weekend?

Well, for the first weekend of summer vacation, you wouldn't have known it in our house. In fact, that blur that you saw going by your window at various times of the weekend was probably one of us doing this, that, or whatever. Much of it was fun and/or productive, so I'm not especially complaining, but note to self: not every weekend or even every day needs to be like this!

Part of what we were working on is preparing for our camping trip next week. I've barely gotten a chance to blog about this. We are going to Maine and NH for a week of camping--this is a big event, as it is our first extended camping trip with the girls, which is a whole different animal than the weekend away to wherever. On Friday Cat and I hauled out all of our camping gear to take inventory--this was a dusty, moldy mess, but we did it, and were pleased to see that we had more than we thought we did. We made a short jaunt to the local (read "expensive, high-end") camping store to look for hiking shoes for the girls and various other minor things. DH and I had our usual push-pull over whether to buy the shoes there, or look for them someplace else, he of course wanting to do things in the easiest way possible, even if it was more expensive, and me being more hesitant. Finally, he won out--I realized if we drove all over creation looking for the same or better hiking shoes, we might not find them AND we would probably eat up whatever savings we made in gas. So, done. The girls love their shoes, and are ready to find the nearest mountain to climb. I'm psyched that they are so excited!

The next day I hit the grocery store with a basic idea of what dry goods we would need for a week in the wilderness. I hadn't done this in awhile, but I was pleased at how easily it came back to me--we'll do turkey chili one night, various one-dish pasta dishes and stuff like that. Lots of high-carb natural snacks for hikes and other outdoor play, since you do get hungrier when you are outside all day, and things like that. One thing I made a point of was buying several little packages of things, like craisins, etc. Normally I don't do this because from an environmentalist standpoint, I hate all the extra packaging (plus I don't feel like you get as good a buy). But this time I did it because I am bound and determined to get my brood to be more self-sufficient. So when we are on a hike and I hear the ubiquitous whine of "I'm hungry!" five minutes down the trail, the answer is going to be "get food out of your own pack, my dear." Those of you who know this is an issue with me hopefully will be proud.

Saturday night we went to a really fun dinner party with choir friends. Sunday (which happened to be our 12th wedding anniversary) we stayed home in the morning and then went the second performance of DH's oratorio--it went very well--then to a high school graduation party for our good friend C. The kids, after two nights of late partying, slept in this morning. Unfortunately, time and tide wait for no one, and DH and I have to work today! Hence my slight resentment at the lack of a weekend. Oh well...next week, we'll be in Maine!! WHOO HOO!