Choices In Life

We all have choices in life. In the spirit of a new summer creating affordable memories, we decided to take the family camping. It has been a long time since we have gone on this type of getaway and quite frankly, it seems like another life. I had an idea in my head of how this was going to look and let’s just say, it hasn’t been that.

The Plans

The idea was to grab a campsite close to home so we can dip our toes back in. There’s a great place right on the lake but I miscalculated the distance, confusing it with one that’s 2 minutes down the road. No big deal. It’s still close. A cool 12 minute drive. So, we’ll get there after work on Friday and throw up the tent. We’ll cook dinner on the grill, roast marshmallows, and tell ghost stories. The whole thing. I checked the weather to see if we were going to melt in the Georgia heat, and the forecast calls for rain. All week and weekend. 

Pushing Through

Georgia weather is so unpredictable at times. It can call for storms or a heat wave, then surprise you with sunshine and a cool breeze. With that in mind, we kept the reservation, eyeing the weather the whole time. By the weekend, the percentage was less so we were going for it. I was excited then. I had held back any ounce of planning or excitement and unloaded it all right there at 3pm on Friday. Needless to say, my lack of planning meant way too many trips back and forth making a seemingly short drive a tedious one. The rain came through all night and was so loud I don’t think any of us got a lot of sleep. I woke up at 4 am to a half deflated blow up mattress. My husband and son switched places, and landed me practically on the floor. The next morning, we took another little drive to a local eatery, ordered food to go, and later noticed it wasn’t all there.

Choices In Life

I say all of this not to point out every little annoyance but to offer a little perspective. We are all offered choices in life. While these moments are small, they could’ve changed the trajectory of the entire weekend. We CHOSE to set up camp in the rain and in turn had a Saturday full of kayaking, swimming, and relaxing. I CHOSE to laugh instead of get upset over the mattress’ Because of that my son and I have a hilarious core memory to refer back to. I CHOSE to let go of the missing food to stay in my peace that day. The whole weekend was an exhausting and fun blessing that we chose to create. There is so much in life that we don’t have a choice. So when the opportunity to choose peace, or laughter, or rain comes into play, why not?