Pit Toilets

    Over the weekend we went camping, which is part of the reason I haven’t been posting.  No worries because I intend to catch up so I can finish the Ultimate Blogging Challenge in epic style with my 31 posts!   I love camping and it was the first time all summer we have went to an actual campground.  Sure there have been plenty of nights out in the camper outside our back door, but we never actually went anywhere.

     We packed our gear and headed to the Eby Pines Campground in Bristol, Indiana.  They have a ginormous swimming pool that has a water slide my son loves and a huge water umbrella you can swim under.  I digress though.  Nearby our campsite was the traditional pit toilet.  This year the campground had erected a fancy new building over the pit toilet site complete with electric lights.    Thinking this might not be so bad, my kids and I made a beeline for the pit toilet with an urgent need to pee.  I was impressed until I walked into the door.  Sure it was clean enough, but as soon as you opened the door, and in some cases before that, you were bowled over by an eye watering, gag reflex stench that literally took your breath away!!  A person literally had to hold your breath to pee then vault for the door as if shot off the shitter by a canon.  The smell was that bad.  What could I possibly expect from a pit toilet?

 

    As my son marveled how far down his pee had to drop, I wondered how much more money it would have taken to have an electric fan installed along with that nice building and  those electric lights.  Can we get some ventilation please?  Perhaps an industrial sized can of Febreeze?  What is the point of building such a fine structure and installing electric lights and a hand sanitizer dispenser if you fail to provide some form of ventilation?  From that moment on we walked a little farther to the shower house to do our business skirting a wide path around the reeking pit toilet.

      I love to camp but I have got to have a clean toilet devoid of God awful shit and urine smell.  It is a must.  Even if a person squatted behind a tree to take a leak you would have better air quality than that.  Since I am traipsing into those menopausal years I always have to pee in the middle of the night so my daughter always makes the trek to the bathroom with me when we are at the campground.  Even if she doesn’t have to go, by the time we get there, she probably will.  

       The moon and stars were bright in the sky and we were singing “I’m walking in the moonlight” and laughing our fool heads off all the way.  Not another soul seemed to be stirring except for us.  As we neared the pit toilet we noticed this creepy woman that appeared quite not all there staring at the pit toilet but making no moves to enter or retreat. Maybe she was waiting for someone, maybe she was wondering whether she should stay, or whether she should go,  whatever the case, we walked a little quicker and sang a little quieter with a bounce in our step and a song in our hearts.

         

C is for Camping!

     My idea of camping out up used to be a posh room poolside at a luxury hotel where  waiters served you tropical drinks with umbrellas while you caught rays and lathered on sun tan oil.  I couldn't imagine why anyone would pay money to be in the middle of the woods, making food themselves, and setting themselves up as mosquito bait.  It seemed to me like the woods was a good place to get ass raped and left for dead.  It certainly wasn't my idea of a good time.  I mean what the hell would there be to do?  Sit by a fire and twiddle your thumbs swatting mosquitoes?  No thank you sir and ma'am.

       I realized not long after meeting my husband how wrong I could be.  He had been a happy camper most of his life seasonal camping with his family at a local campground.  I admit when he first asked me to go spend the night in his folks camper at the campgrounds, I was skeptical.  Since I loved the man already, I was game.  I packed up enough food to feed an army, blankets and pillows, bug spray and benedryl, card games, and steeled myself for an adventure.  I was willing to suck it up at least once for him and try it.   They say what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.  

        We rode our bikes up and down every trail.  When it was hot, we swam and splashed in the swimming pool.  When we got hungry,we built a fire and made a feast. We played cards and laughed.  The best part was sitting around the

campfire under the stars watching the flames dance and stuffing our faces with gooey marshmallows. After that first experience,  I was hooked.  Now our kids and dogs join us and we have a fabulous time!

My Favorite Place to Be

     These days when I am feeling low or when I need to get away and recharge my batteries I retreat to my happy place.  It isn’t far from my own back door.  I escape to my camper parked alongside my house.  When I step through the door, I feel as if I am transported to a whole different place.  I can imagine that I am anywhere without ever leaving home.  It doesn’t cost any money.  I don’t use any gas to get there.  

       I have never been able to pinpoint what is so special about my camper.  Maybe it is because it is a place that is all my own.  It is a place for fun and relaxation.  It matters little that we rarely take it on any camping trips.  What does matter is that it is there as an escape from reality.  It is a place to go to play games.  I have all of our card games, board games, and LEGO games stored out there.  When we feel like having a game day we cart chips, dips, and drinks to the camper and have our own little party.  Naturally we take the dogs with us and they love the camper as much as I do.  If they see me heading for the camper they are desperate to go too.  Once there they settle on the bed and fall happily asleep.  It is a place to go to lose myself in a book.  It is a place to go when there is no place to go.  It is my place, and without it I think there are some days I would surely go insane.  

       I am not sure why I love my camper so much, but I do.  I have never left home but still feel like I have.  That is what I like about it best.  I can be me.  I can laugh.  I can cry.  So as crazy as it may seem, my favorite place in the whole wide world is right outside my door.  When I am in my camper I remember what a wonderful world it is until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.

Summer

       For the first time in a very long time I looked forward to the beginning of summer with the same excitement and enthusiasm as my two children.  Like them, I counted the days until the end of school and the beginning of summer.  I wasn’t in school with them, but I still thought the last weeks of school dragged at a snail’s pace.  All of a sudden time speeded up and my son graduated from kindergarten, my daughter went fishing with her class, and the last day of school was upon us all.  I celebrated with them with war whoops and high fives. I proudly displayed the end of year awards each received around the living room and awarded them with hugs and kisses for their end of year report cards filled with perfect scores and A’s.

       Here I am, in the beginning stages of menopause embracing summer with both hands.  Hello late nights and sleeping in!  Goodbye to the daily 6 hours of silence and solitude.   Hello to roasting your happy a$$ off in the summer heat and the threat of another heat stroke to mark this year like the last.  Hello to turning into a Popsicle in the cool, artic temperatures of the house thanks to the air conditioning.   For me, summer began officially this past Wednesday morning.  It was the first day of summer break for my kids and the first day the alarm clock was silent at 7:30 am.   Bust out the sun block and the bug spray!

        Summer is filled with long warm hazy days of swimming, reading, exploring, and playing.  For me, it wouldn’t be summer without signing my kids up for the local library’s summer reading program.  It encourages the kids to read over the summer by awarding them with prizes for their dedication.  Thursday the library planned a family story time at my hometown’s newest attraction, the Wellfield Botanic Gardens.  I took the kids and was amazed to find such a lovely place so close to home.  Sitting on a blanket, we enjoyed stories, dancing, clapping, and singing silly songs in the shade of a big ole tree.  The best part was when the last story ended and we could explore the winding trails of the garden and waterways.  I took great pleasure in capturing the beauty with my camera.

         It wouldn’t be summer without a trip downtown to the spray pads and city parks.  The kids and I ventured there on Friday after running the necessary errands.  Garbed in swim suits they raced amongst the dancing shooting fountains of cool refreshing water that sprayed up at random drenching them.  I watched them race from one to the next squealing with delight as yet another fountain appears and blossoms from the ground.  I watch from a nearby bench, smiling at their exuberance as I read my book.

        Summer breezes caress filled with the fragrance of flowers, tantalizing aromas of barbecues, freshly mown grass, and the tropical smell of sun block.  The nights are lit by stars and bursts of fireworks.  Summer is when the boom box makes its way outside and my favorite tunes provide a rousing backdrop to whatever we do.  The garden is planted, watered, and weeded as we eagerly anticipate the first ripe tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and green beans.  We walk to the school playground, swim, prepare for the 4H fair, and when my husband arrives for a weekend home zoom around the neighborhood on the golf cart.

         Fresh berries, corn on the cob, elephant ears, drippy ice cream cones, cotton candy, and barbecued meat sizzled to perfection on a hot grill.  Picnics, fireworks, carnival rides at the local fair, splashing in the pool, and sitting around a blazing campfire roasting marshmallows.  Time spent with my husband and kids enjoying the rodeo, races, and outdoor concerts.  Making memories, time spent together, laughing, living, and loving in the summertime until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.

It's My Party- BFF 189

 

   I celebrated my birthday over the weekend with a camping trip and a party at the campground.

The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award

      Recently I was awarded the “Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award” from November Rain at Bloggit Write.  A big heart felt thank you for thinking of me!  I am honored! The time has come for me step up to the plate and fulfill the requirements and pass this lovely little award on to someone who doesn’t already have it and is equally worthy.  I must share 7 things about me and pass the award along so here goes nothing!




7 Things about Me…

1.  My first part time job was as a sound engineer.  I mixed the sound board and set the mikes for several productions that were held in the auditorium of my high school including the theatrical presentation of “Don Quixote”.  I also was the girl behind the scenes mixing the boards for every production that graced the stage during my time in high school from “Fiddler on the Roof” to “Damn Yankees”.  Because of this and the fact that I spent my youth running all over the countryside with my mom to Oak Ridge Boys concerts I was convinced I wanted to be a sound engineer when I grew up.  It was a burning desire that quickly flickered out when I discovered home was where my heart was.


         2.  I love to read.

         3.  I used to work in the lab at a company that makes diabetes test strips.  I spent 4-6 hours a day dipping test strips into vials of random blood and pee and recording my readings.  It was a pretty cool job.  I even got to wear a white lab coat and look all official.


          4.  I love cats and dogs.  


          5.  I attended the CMA award show in Nashville, Tennessee when I was 18 years old.  Lionel Richie performed that year and it was a thrill to get to rub elbows with all the stars and the music business elite at the post award show party at the Opryland Hotel afterwards.


           6.  I love to go camping!! Of course I do it in a very nice travel trailer.  I can’t imagine roughing it in a tent!! UGH!

  7.  When I was little I wanted to be an animator at Disney, marry Prince Charming, and live happily ever after in Cinderella’s castle in the heart of Disney World.  Ahhh, the lofty aspirations of a preschooler!  This last week I was tickled to redesign my website and create an avatar of me. It was so much fun!! I am living the dream. LOL


     That wasn’t too painful!  Now without further ado…here are the folks, in no particular order,  I think are irresistibly sweet and talented writers in their own right!  I absolutely love visiting their blogs and reading what they have to say and I am sure you will too!


1.   Kat at “My View through Kat Eyes”
2.   Tim at “I Never Wanted to Be a Fireman”
3.    Feathered Pen at “My Feathered Pen”
4.    Daphne at “My Distant Husband”
5.    Suzy at “Someday, Somewhere”
6.    Theresa at "Life in My Little Corner"


     Congratulations to each of you!  You are all irresistibly sweet bloggers and I look forward to  reading more of your work until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.