I had the privilege of being at my mom's in Sundre AB with my dear friend Pam and her son Richard. Let me just say it was a weekend of 'first's' for Richard and I am positive some for Pam too.
Richards 'firsts':
Thursday; first time in car for a long road trip and first time to Alberta. Honestly I didn't know what to expect from a 9 yr old boy during a long car ride. Thanks to Gravol he slept for the first bit and then once awake we started to have fun. We sang crazy songs, we laughed and continued to answer the age old question 'are we there'. He was so good in the car in fact often you wondered if we didn't leave him at one of our stops along the way he was that quiet.Friday; first campfire, first time roasting smokies, first time roasting marshmallows, first time poking around in campfire with a stick, first time sleeping in a cabin and first time driving a golf cart in the RV park. This night for me was special. I was honored to witness so many things this night that Richard did for the first time. At first it was odd to think he never did these things before as my childhood consisted of this stuff so how on earth could someone's childhood not! I guess not all childhood activities are the same.
As most of us know a campfire is interesting to watch as the flames dance from log to log. Sparks can fly at you in a moments notice and in the next your eyes are shut tight as the smoke has blown your way. My mom took Richard into the shed and shared her secret on how to get colors in the flames. She puts a copper pipe in the fire with a secret ingredient inside of the pipe and once it becomes hot the flames turn colors from purple to blue and green and of course surrounded in orange.
Saturday; first time playing a game of scrub baseball, first time having a lemon meringue tart (he was ok till my mom said the top was an egg as he thought it was a melted marshmallow), first time getting hit by baseball in scrub game on the leg (left a bit of a goose egg).
Sunday; first time attempting to pet a donkey, first time feeding horses, first time tossing rocks in the local creek and first time to a country church. Did you know donkeys are stubborn!! They got just close enough to the fence for us to not be able to reach them. However we did find a life size Donkey from Shrek!
Monday; first time entering BC coming from Alberta, first time at Emerald Lake for lunch and first time to survive a long road trip!
People are very interesting. And when you take people from different life styles or backgrounds and put them together for a few days it is a kind of wait and see mentality of what can or will happen. We adjust to each others needs and wants and enjoy each others company as you never know when it will end. I know I tried to make the most of each moment.
I so enjoyed this weekend. Time with family is invaluable! Time with friends is priceless and life changing. I distinctly remember one evening lying on the bed and laughing with Pam so hard I could barely move.
And when you stay in a cabin that has a holding tank for waste water instead of sewage you learn quickly how to improvise and we learn even faster how spoiled we are to live in the city with all the cushy amenities. I actually like the simpler lifestyle and I think partly as I have started to become more earth conscience in regards to reuse and recycle. At first it was just a concept....now it is part of life. Of course my simple life style still includes internet and TV, but there is something so soothing about sitting on the porch in the fresh air enjoying what God has so carefully created for us.
There was a moment were I had to be a redneck plumber and below is a picture of my weapon of choice! Not going to explain why.....you can use your imagination. If you know anything about marine toilets you'll understand.
All in all it was a fantastic weekend and I can't wait to do it again!!
