In Tents

This past weekend, I had the delightful opportunity to spend a few days camping.

I say delightful because I love the outdoors, good food, ignoring my phone, and hanging (sometimes literally, in hammocks) with my friends.

However, when I returned and thought about it, it struck me as funny that I found the trip delightful.

See, camping is very inconvenient and sometimes even downright unpleasant.

Please allow me to list the ways in which camping is unpleasant:

(“How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways…” 5 points to Gryffindor if you can name that movie!)

1) It’s dirty. When we returned, I had to wash my tent with a hose because it was covered in mud and grass and leaves. Also, I took one shower over the course of the 4-day trip, meaning that I was also dirty.

2) You have to deal with the weather. While we were there, camped on the shores of Lake Erie (the fake ocean, amirite?) a large storm came in and, between the vigorous wind and the rain and the thunder and lightning, sleep was minimal that night. Plus, we woke up wet. Not soaked, just damp. But still.

3) Even in good weather, sleep is not consistent. Due to your proximity to the ground, as well as the general night noises, often one does not sleep well in a tent.

4) There is little to no avoiding the insects. Guys. I have proposed to my friends that we rename our Labor Day trips: Itchy Weekends. Because my oh my did the bugs bite. I returned with many, many itchy spots, some of which are visible in this photograph.

5) Things are more difficult. Where’s the drinking water? Somewhere on the other side of that field. How do we remove our food from the fire? Devise some sort of pulley system out of aluminum foil and twine. How do we know where to go? Consult this paper map, which is not to scale and was drawn over a decade ago. See what I mean? More difficult.

And yet, somehow, I still find staying in tents delightful. Call me crazy (you’ll probably have to get in line for that) but all the negatives seem to produce a certain pride in one’s survival and thrival. (Why isn’t that a word? It should be) Not to mention, it instills gratitude for things we usually take for granted, like…showers and beds and kitchen counters.

And as I considered it, I decided that there are quite a few things that we do regularly that are not entirely pleasant but produce pleasant results. Exercise, for one. Cleaning the house. Etc.

So. What do you do that’s inconvenient or not entirely pleasant, but still somehow worthwhile, maybe even enjoyable? And if it’s spending time in tents, throw up a rock fist in solidarity.