Just not my thing..

Camping is in the air! I guess it's because it's getting to be spring (maybe, even though it already feels like summer out there) but last weekend my 2 singles groups that I am apart of went on camping trips. Since I can't be in 2 places at 1 time, I had to choose between them and ended up choosing the one through my church a) because I am really making an effort to get to know these people more than just on Sunday mornings and b) because there was no cost. I have never been a huge fan of being outdoors. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate nature and everything that goes along with it - birds, trees, grass, dirt, wind, bugs, snakes (well, maybe not snakes), other wild animals (well, maybe not those either..), etc. being outside is just not my PLHO (Preferred Location for Hanging Out). But.. since 2009 is all about getting out of the box, I sucked it up.. packed a few necessities in a bag, grabbed my pillow & some blankets (yeah, I don't have a sleeping bag) and set out for my adventure! It took us about 2 hours to get to the campsite from Plano (I met a girl at the DART station where I left my car I know.. but it was really easiest). Once we pulled up, the owner of the house where we all parked (a guy in our class' dad) piled all of our stuff into his truck & DROVE us about 1/4 a mile down the road to the campsite. Everything was set up really nicely - tents on the side (but not too close to the trees), picnic tables to eat or play cards, campfire was going with plenty of seats to sit around it & enjoy being outdoors. We just had a good time hanging out with each other and enjoying each other's company. Several potty break trips up to the house were made for us girls so that we didn't have to do our business all out in the woods (and there were boys around too so you get the picture). Everything was good and well... until it was bedtime. I guess I should say, until some people decided they wanted to go to sleep. My tent actually stayed up pretty late - 1:00am these girls were ready to hit the bed. I was fine with that - I thought I probably wouldn't do much sleeping anyway because the ground is hard and there are all sorts of noises outside that you just don't hear in the comfort of your own bed at home! I laid down and had just shut my eyes when I heard chaos breaking loose outside my tent. Folks had been talking about pulling pranks on other people all night long so I started praying "Please don't let them be doing something to me or my tent!". I was just laying there on this hard ground, looking up at the top of the tent and seeing shadows and hearing whispering and talk of "saran wrap" and "are you sure this is the right place?". My first thought was.. "They are saran wrapping me in this tent!" After I saw/heard the camera flashing and the cheering coming from outside the tent, I decided I'd better make sure that nothing had happened - AND at this point I was thinking "yeah.. guess I'm pulling an all-nighter tonight". One of my tent-mates beat me to it though.. she jumped up out of bed & unzipped the door & went outside & started going off on people for being loud and shining flashlights while people are trying to sleep, and so on.. I was actually glad she did that! Then I could see that WE WEREN'T LOCKED IN THERE!! Praise the LORD! I just might survive after all! LOL I did, however, have to go to the bathroom (again) though so I had to go find someone to walk through the cow pasture with me (dodging cow patties the whole time) or someone to drive me to the house. I found a volunteer & he drove me to the house. When we got back, I decided I needed to try to sleep a little - I think I managed maybe 1 hour of sleep, if that. Ate breakfast the next morning (or same day, however you look at it) & had a nice time of prayer by the campfire before we headed home.

OH, and in case you were wondering about the saran wrap - they wrapped a guy in his car because he was the first one to go to sleep! LOL

The conclusion that I have come to is that CAMPING is... just not my thing! To each their own in this - if you invite me camping with you, please know that I will always consider your request but don't be offended if I say no. Just like if I ask you to watch High School Musical I, II & III marathon all in one day - I know it's just not your thing so I won't be offended WHEN you say no! =)