building a tent

camping has always been an incredibly fun adventure in my life.  i grew up spending many summer hours in tents, swimming in the nearby lake, lying on the old lawn chair lounger thingy by the fire pit and reading book after book.

my hubby also loves camping, despite only going three times in his life before marriage, and all three being miserable experiences for him.  he married into a camping-loving family and now loves it as much as the rest of us!

as i write this, he is at camp.  he has worked for this camp every summer for six years now and thoroughly enjoys it!  because of the economy, a downfall in camper numbers, and overall budget cuts, the camp had to rework through it's programs to save money.

this week is jr. high week.  in the past, they have taken them to lake erie and stayed on kelley's island for 3 days/2 nights. because of budget cuts, this year they had to stay at camp for those nights.

as part of the 'new' experience, last night campers had to build their own shelters out of a few given materials and what they found in nature.  the shelters not only had to stand, but the campers had to sleep under them all night, whether rain, cold, raccoon, snake, etc. came to bother them.  i can't WAIT to hear some of the stories about this! :)

my hubby called late last night, and i asked how his shelter turned out.  counselors were supposed to build shelters as well.  he said by the time they got dinner and the special night activity finished, the counselors ran out of time to build their own shelters and just pitched a tent.  ha. :)

here at home, i've had to 'unexpectedly' build my own tent... as in being CONtent. ha.  okay, that was a bit lame... give me a break, i'm tired! ;)

i'm used to being at home a lot without him because of his crazy long weekend work hours.  but sometimes i just need to get out and away and something different.

i love staying home with my kids.  i really do.  but the staying part sometimes gets to me.  i've always been a traveler, always on the go, planning the next trip, going it alone when others thought i was crazy... it didn't matter.

but now with real responsibilities (you know, a hubby, 3 kids, and a house), along with lack of money, trips are pretty much non-existent.

it doesn't help that i'm discontent with my house either.  we bought this house with the intentions of only staying here 5 years MAXIMUM.  it's been 10.  yeah.  it's small, it's old, the people who 'renovated' it to sell it did it as cheaply as possible (which means everything is falling apart), and my number one issue: it's in the city.

i've really been striving to be content with the house, and in the last year i've finally started turning it into a home.  (yes, it took that long).  my kids love this place because it's all they've ever known, and i want it to be something they enjoy and not be ashamed of (when they get to that age). ;)

so here i sit.  in my little home.  with my 3 wonderful kids.  in the city.  trying to be content with where God has me.