A very happy …. 76? (er….2014-1936=78) 78th birthday to my Dad! I hope that your day is full of wonderful things, and I’ll start it off with this sunset. (You can pretend it’s a sunrise.) This is the photo Lloyd took at the lake when we went camping.
Since I didn’t send a card because I’m the worst daughter ever, let me instead tell you about my parents taking us camping as kids. (Mom’s birthday is in a week and a half, so this is for her, too.) When I was a kid we had a tent camper-thing. It looked kind of like this. My mom and dad slept in one bunk, my brothers on the floor on a foam mat, and my sister and I in the other bunk. We would often camp right by a river, and the sound of rushing water is the very best thing to fall asleep to ever. Despite being told repeated to never touch the tent material from the inside if it was raining, I touched it. I was rewarded with a steady dripping on my face throughout the night.
Dad would turn off the kerosene Coleman lantern as we all snuggled in our two-man flannel sleeping bags. I loved watching the light get dimmer and dimmer as it used up the fumes, then it would go out and it would be DARK. There are no lights up on the mountain, except for one bazillion stars. We would talk a little and then fall asleep in the crazy fresh air. One night my sister and I stayed up and she whispered an explanation of ‘castration’ to me when I asked her about it after reading some horse book. (I told Lloyd the other night that everyone in the tent probably heard that science lesson. Sorry, everyone.)
In the mornings we would wake up to the sounds of breakfast being made. Mom would have a pot of water heating on the Coleman camp stove. She would dip a washcloth in it, wring it out and give it to us to wash our wonderfully grubby faces. Bacon and eggs would magically appear – and sometimes fresh-caught trout for breakfast. Mmmmmm…… trout cooked in foil with butter and Lawry’s…… Then it was off to fish, or climb rocks, or mess with sticks by the river.
I loved camping as a kid. All the work was done by the two people who loved us enough to go through all the headache of planning and packing, all so we could have wonderful memories. Thanks, Dad! Thanks, Mom!
Brad says
Aww… that sounds fun! I want to go camping this weekend! Now, where do I find some people to do all the work for me?
Lauren says
You should have my parents take you camping.
Jill says
Well. That was convicting (in a good way). We’ve just started taking our kids camping, (ages 9, 7, & 4 1/2) and I did not grow up camping, but my hubby did. I tend to complain a bit about how much work it is, not considering the memories. Thanks for the attitude check!
Lauren says
It IS a ton of work, no joke! We just went for one evening and it was more planning than I bargained for.
Lauren's dad says
How aging memories improve the events of the past!
Mom prepared the chili, spaghetti sauce, and hamburger patties at home so that meal preparations in camp didn’t take much effort. She also planned menus and made sure we had plenty of extras. She did all the work, and we had all the enjoyment!
Lauren says
Mom rocks!! :Q (I’m leaving that. Ralph is walking on the keyboard. His is hungry. “Ralph want fud.”)
Brad says
BTW (as the young people say) -- I really like the picture of the sunset. I don’t know why my iPhone pictures are always so bad. Is there some switch that says “blurry”, and mine is stuck in the “on” position?
Lauren says
I have found that my iPad takes stupendous photos when sunlight is involved, and terrible photos in regular light.
Brad says
Oh! And Happy Birthday, Lauren’s dad!
Mom says
What a tribute! Makes me want to go camping, too. Happy Birthday to both of you.
Lauren says
🙂
Rachel Sommerer says
We had a similar camper, and as you describe it I can smell the rain dampened tarp! What wonderful memories you have awakened! Happy Birthday, Lauren’s Dad and Mom!
Beth says
My sweet children will never have camping memories. Because…I am their mother, and no.
But they already have awesome memories of Embassy Suites vacations. 😀