But Why Is The Tequila Gone?

And it really is. A perfectly lovely bottle of tequila, consumed and empty.

I went camping this weekend with my husband, 3 kids, 1 dog, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, their 2 kids, 2 dogs and new kitten. I kid you not. Is the empty bottle of tequila making more sense now?

Now, my husband likes to camp, however his idea of camping involves a tiny lake on the tippy, tippy top of a very big mountain. With no other humans for at least 100 kilometers. As you can imagine, this also means no bathrooms. And flies. Big, evil horse flies. With teeth. And weapons. When we were dating, I went to these places with my hubby. I smiled. I tried to be an outdoor girl.... ok -- that's a lie. I tried to pretend that I was an outdoor girl. I wasn't, nor am I today. (Sorry, hubby.... I'm sure it's grounds for an anullment, at least.) It's taken me many years to not feel inadequate as a human being for not liking the great outdoors. The tequila helps.

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law own a MONSTER motor home. It has carpet and a microwave. I love them. And their motor home. Earlier this year, we all went camping to a lovely place with nothing but trees and sand. It was beautiful, but very, very far from civilization -- NO people. This time, however, we went 20 minutes from home to a fantastic campground, but there were people there. People -- the horror!!!! I arrived ahead of my husband and knew that he was already on edge about the possibility of people being there, however it was my turn to pick the camping location, and this was it. The campground was almost empty.... perhaps only 10 other campsites being used in the entire area. This campground did have people; however it also had very clean bathrooms.... with flush toilets and (be still my heart...) showers!!! I saw a woman in there with a blow dryer. Is it so wrong to want nature AND a blow dryer? I ask you???

We only stayed one night, but it was wonderful. I arrived Saturday afternoon with my kids and dog, and the flowing of the margaritas commenced soon after. I had a very comfy lawn chair, an amazing view of the lake, sunshine, laughing children and margaritas. Does life get much better than this? My wonderful in-laws and I discussed Eckhart Tolle and the secret of making the most out of this life and laughed and relaxed and when my husband arrived, he gritted his teeth (because of all the people!!!), had a margarita with us and relaxation ensued, even for him, poor soul.

That night, there were at least a zillion visible stars in the sky and I just bundled up and leaned back in my comfy lawn chair and watched them. It was one of the most peaceful moments I've had in ages and I was truly just in the moment. That's rare for me.... and, yes. There was a margarita involved. The next day I went for a walk along the beach with my 12 year old son and listened to him tell me all about skipping rocks and frogs and why he really doesn't need shoes. We came across a blue heron and he was thrilled. Again, totally in the moment. (I managed this sans margarita... what a good mommy I am!).

That night I snuggled into the very luxurious motor home to sleep. Yes, a cat did pounce on my head during the night, and yes, I did have to get up in the middle of the night to powder my nose (penance for the excessive margarita-ness) but I did get to experience all the beauty that camping has to offer along with the conveniences of home.

So now it's 12:38 a.m. and I'm on my very comfortable couch with my very new and shiny laptop, grateful for the relaxing weekend, but also grateful to be warm, dry and ready for work tomorrow.

Jose Cuervo, you are a friend of mine....