Camping

Recently, I went camping for perhaps the first time in 15 years. Leading up to the trip, I was excited to enjoy the outdoors and get a break from my normal routine. When I researched camping supplies, the images online looked so peaceful and scenic.

Then, we arrived at the campsite. Getting the fire started and ready to cook took half an hour. A spider crawled on me. There were showers, but I forgot my shower shoes. The list of small annoyances goes on. I was not happy. And, I regretfully admit, I did not hide this feeling from Marc, my fiancé. I could see how this hurt him, but my feelings were running the show, and I was already entrenched in a sense of righteous anger at the indignities of camping. When we went to bed that night, he expected me to demand to go home first thing the next day.

Yet, the next morning, I went for a run; long and challenging, it gave me time to reflect on the past 12 hours. My perspective shifted from how uncomfortable spending the night at a campsite is to how important my partner’s happiness is. And I resolved to focus on that, rather than the multitude of tiny inconveniences.

From that point on, the rest of the weekend went more smoothly. True, the ground was still hard to sleep on, I still had no shower shoes, and we never mastered the firepit. But our time together started to feel more like us taking on an exciting adventure, rather than surviving a disaster.

Two days later, back in our comfortable apartment, I was researching new campsites to try. The next time, I’ll be armed with realistic expectations and shower shoes.

Creator, help us to turn toward you and toward each other when faced with challenges big and small.

Elizabeth lives in Chicago with her fiancé, two cats, and a dog.