I know it may sound silly, but I love sleeping in the camper. I think that was imprinted deeply when I found my first camper to be such a sanctuary for my grief as a new widow. Somehow it transported me above the pain just enough to allow me to breathe and take little bites instead of drowning in it. I’ve had a camper ever since. Several, to be exact. And each one comforted me.
I don’t need comforting as much anymore. Now my escape is more of a place to just be with my thoughts, my writing, and this project. It doesn’t have to be on the road or at some fancy place. I can camp 100 feet from the house and it feels just as adventurous as a National Park clear across the country. And…it’s free!
It doesn’t hit Mr. FixIt that way. He would rather have his comfy bed and bathroom handy. But he would never deny me the pleasure of camping whenever I need a cozy camper fix. I can guarantee you something. If Mr. Virgo were still alive, I never would have gone off camping without him. He didn’t like it if I went to Denver for a visit without him, let alone hook up a 30 foot camping trailer and haul it across the country. It never woulda happened.
That’s not to mean our life wouldn’t have been happy. To the contrary, we did everything together. But now? Now I know what I am capable of. I know what happens when you lose your spouse and you have to learn how to do everything on your own. I’ve had a taste of the freedom I never would have known to seek. Mr. FixIt knows that. My adventurous spirit is one of the things that attracted him to me. He’s proud when he shares with his buddies that I am off hauling the camper on some grand adventure. Many of them are aghast and claim they NEVER would let THEIR wives go off like that. Mr. FixIt just shakes his head and laughs.
“You don’t LET your wife do things. You CELEBRATE her abilities and ENCOURAGE her!”
Ohhhh, he’s a good, good man!
I need to sit down and start making some camping reservations for us this summer. We have a busy year already with our annual trip to the beach, my cousin’s visit here, two family weddings and a trip to Colorado to see my peeps. The time just seems to fly by anymore.
Mr. FixIt and I put the ceiling vent back up where the attic fan comes through the ceiling of the hallway. He put the light fixtures back up and taped the molding. Today we’ll paint then he can finish up the new molding around the doors and we’ll be finished. Slow and steady wins the race. The only thing is, there’s SO much to be done around here, by the time we get to the end of the list, it’ll be time to start doing things over again!
Big swims again today…her last swim meet of the season.
Go Big, Go!!!
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“Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage.”
Ephesians 5:25-28 MSG