cannoball camping…

… or the twelve things I learned this weekend.

Photo courtesy, Vincenzo.

1- roosters not only crow at dawn; they can crow at 1am,2am,3am,4am …
2- I conquered my fear of bugs.
3- Boys never outgrow potty humor; a grown man will still laugh at fart jokes.
4- Drinking warm water after hiking four miles will make you vomit.
5- Bats like me.
6- So do spiders.
7- Being grateful it was only a frog in your bed roll.
8- If you stink bad enough you won’t notice how bad others smell.
9- If you stink bad enough mosquitoes won’t notice you either.
10- If your hungry enough MRE are pretty freaking tasty!
11- Crown Royal makes for an excellent fireside night cap.
12- I absofreakinlutely love camping and can’t wait to do it again!

I’m sore, exhausted, slightly traumatized from the bats, and have blisters covering both my feet but my son and I had the best time at Scout camp. For first timers we did ok; I didn’t embarrass him too much. I was the reluctant camper to start but after trying to apply eye liner at 6:00am by lamp light with no mirror I laughed at myself and decided to roll with it.

I’m glad I did. I never would have had the patience otherwise to handle the giggling farting boys in one tent and their snoring fathers in the other. Once I got over my fear of dirt and a silly little thing called “personal hygiene” we had a blast.

In fact, I had so much fun I made plans with another family to camp with them next month.

I must be crazy.