The Blog from the Campsite

I wrote this one yesterday, sitting in our camper near the river:
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It’s Sunday of our weekend away and we’ve had some wild weather today. Yesterday ended up warmer than expected, and the promised storm had not come by the time we went to bed. This morning I woke around 7:30 and took the dog out for a brief walk – still rather warm-ish, but now overcast. About an hour later, the wind suddenly roared down with gale-force strength, bending the trees and nearly blowing over another camper’s tent. Following hard on the heels of the wind was a violent rainstorm, after which came the dramatic drop in temperature. The rest of the day has proved to be windy, mostly – with times of rain and times of sun, but always the wind. And it has stayed cold.

I grew up near the Jersey Shore, land of hurricanes and nor’easters; I LOVE weather drama. Snug in the camper, I enjoyed it all.

Tim went off to the hot pools for one last soak today. I begged off so that I could indulge my desire to sit and read for a while. I finished one book and then started thinking about the program I need to put together for our upcoming women’s retreat. Pulled out my Bible in order to copy down some verses, plus spent some time searching for specific references with the help of e-Sword (love that software!). The hardest part of this is formulating good discussion questions, but I know God will bring some good ones to mind before the retreat actually takes place.

It’s been great to be away and not have to think about things to do around the house. Even when I take a Sabbath Sunday at home, I end up thinking about the endless to-do list. Here in the campsite by the river, I can just ignore all that until we get home later this afternoon. I needed the break, believe me.

Update on Mom: I talked to my mother this afternoon, and she is not in pain but is still, nevertheless, “feeling crappy.” There just isn’t any other word for it: “crappy” is really it. She’s tired, and tired of being tired. She is very grateful for the absence of pain, but she seems to be growing mentally and emotionally weary of being physically exhausted so easily and so much of the time. Can’t say I blame her. My mother was always a busy bee, even after she retired from working full time. The weakness she has now is depressing.

- Catherine