To Pack

I'm so excited.

As bins and boxes and bags take over my house, I get more and more excited. We're packing in preparation to move to our new home. It's quite a bit smaller than our current home - just one big room that can be divided into two if needed...and just a short walk from the bathroom. It's in the woods, with a short walk to a beautiful lake. 

Soon we leave for campsite fourteen at Camp Calumet in Freedom, NH - our home for sixteen days. Packing two adults and three children for a little more than two weeks away ... and one child for eight days at camp... isn't an easy task. The resident campers need extra outfits, plenty of socks and underwear, bathing suits, towels, toiletries, water bottles, and all the other items on their checklist. The adults need a tent, tarps, ropes, food, beds, cooking supplies, and all the other things that go into living in a tent and cooking over a fire for a couple weeks.

I am excited about this vacation. Excited and a bit apprehensive. Ok, a lot apprehensive. My health hasn't been good at all lately. I'm still recovering from acute bronchitis over three weeks after my time in the emergency department. I'm afraid I won't be able to do any of the physical activities I so enjoy when we're at camp, hiking and kayaking being at the top of the list. I don't know that I'll have the energy or endurance. I'm afraid I'll go into adrenal crisis if I attempt a hike. I worry my health issues will ruin our vacation.

Most of all, I'm sad that I don't get a vacation from all of this. I can't leave the pain and exhaustion at home...it's with me every second of every day.

However, I won't let fear and worry take over. No matter what my health status, I will have a wonderful time. It's difficult not to enjoy oneself at Camp Calumet! I will enjoy meals I don't have to cook, reading voraciously, great conversations during bible study, pontoon boat rides, campfires, lounging on the beach, and the many other things Calumet has to offer. 

Today, I intend...

...to pack my worries away and look forward without worry or stress.

... to take each day, each moment, as it comes and to live it to the fullest.

... to be gentle with myself and with others.