So this past weekend my family spent Mother's Day together camping at Kozy Rest Kampground. (Isn't my Mom lucky?!) This was the second of such an event. The previous one occurred in October 2010.
As I sit back and reflect on the weekend, I feel nothing but a sense of gratitude that I was born into this family. In these times, it’s getting harder and harder for families to spend time together, especially when part of the family lives 5 hours away. However, this is the second time in seven months (excluding holidays) that my family was able to reserve a weekend to spend together and we were excited about it! In that, I realize we are lucky.
While we were growing up we were not a camping family. We didn’t need to be. We spent the weekends at my mom’s arent’s house which sat on 120 acres in the middle of no-whereville, West Virginia. We would camp out between the pine trees and that was enough for us. It wasn’t until my brother-in-law acquired a pop-up camper that the family started to really camp. Yes my brother and I had friends in high school (separate friends) that we would camp with, but never with a camper. However, my brother-in-law did grow up in a camping family and is sharing those lessons with us, so we aren't complete newbies.
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It started Friday night with the passing out of the t-shirts, made by my brother which said ‘Kozy Rest Kampground Mother’s Day 2011’ on the front and the back contained a stick figure for each person in attendance. It was extremely well done and they got a few laughs from the other campers. Then my brother and sister-in-law went on to give out the 1st Annual Eatesee Awards. Which were absolutely hysterical and very well written. Many kudos for those two for the effort which was put in.
Saturday was spent doing crafts (including my dad painting a ceramic bear!), cooking, riding bikes, playing catch, being a family. This weekend was full of many laughs and much to my mother’s joy, no fights. Saturday night was spent playing a cut throat game of bingo at the rec hall. Then we gathered around the fire pit, just talking learning not only about each others lives, but our family history. I was actually shocked to know that my maternal grandmother graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a master’s degree.
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Thinking about the weekend, cell phones were really only used in place of a watch. We played catch, ladder ball, a game of Sorry, and yes, there were two iPad’s floating around used to play 'Angry Birds.' However, we played. We interacted with each other. We enjoyed nature both the rain and thunder and the sunshine. We had no plans, no where to go. We were just ... camping ... as a family ...
Thinking about it … when was the last time your family was together and enjoyed just being with each other? Maybe camping isn’t your thing but I would encourage families to take a weekend and spend it with each other doing almost nothing. Take the time to make memories, laugh together, and build those family connections.
Much appreciation is given to the camp ground in which we stayed. I could not ask for a better camp ground. At this camp you can rent log cabins (that are really nice) which is what we did. Then my sister's family rented a campsite right across the way. The staff is friendly, the grounds are clean, the other campers respectful and friendly. They also have many activates that help keep to keep the kiddies busy. It really does make a difference. We've already booked our reservations for October!
I'll leave you with this thought:
No man on his death bed ever looked up into the eyes of his family and friends and said, "I wish I'd spent more time at the office." - Unknown
Take it easy.