The Planning

As usual, we've made our camp list and we're checking it twice.  Last year, we forgot the neat sheet, the chair pads, and JT's sun hat.  So they moved to the top of this year's list.  The water bottles have been washed and dried, the dishes are clean and ready.  The silverware is secured in the pouches made by Grandma and the tent poles have been counted and organized.  Shorts and t-shirts are being stacked and organized; swimsuits are collected and ready. 

My book pile is organized and I'm ready to read.

At the age of 11 (and with the height and muscles to prove it), JT is a very able assistant.  He can carry almost everything and finds the camp preparation exciting.  I like this part of life with an adolescent; he's still willing to help out and can summon a good deal of enthusiasm for the jobs at hand.  So the pile in the living room grows and the supplies get organized and there is a reliable assistant helping to check our list twice.

We'll be sleeping in the woods tonight, making memories that will sustain us through the rough patches of life.  A few years ago when we arrived at camp, my friend S said to me, "no matter what happens, our boys will always have camping."  This trip, now in it's sixth year, is a tradition that teaches the boys the pleasures of simple fun, the ability to compromise, the value of independence, pleasure in the natural world, and the value of family.  That's a pretty tall order for life, let alone an annual vacation.  But we will easily fulfill it.

That's most happy.