This weekend, I decided that I really need to blog about my adventures in single parenting with my two boys. I have two sons ages 4 and 6 and they are AMAZING young men.
This weekend we went camping and when I say camping, I mean "roughing it". We slept in a tent and had no electricity. Back in March or April I heard about a program through the state of Maine Department of Conservation where they would award 40 families a camping trip to one of the state parks. The only catch was that you could never have camped before or if you were an adult, you could not have camped in the last 10 years. I camped with my grandparents when I was a kid, but that was at least ___ years ago. (cough, cough) So I applied along with 1299 other families (literally) and we WON!! It was an all expenses paid trip to a state park chosen by the state of Maine for 2 nights. They supplied the camping gear, gave us a $50 gift certificate to Hannaford and even supplied a ranger that met us there and helped us set up our tent. We had so much fun.
From the minute we arrived, we felt so welcomed. Our neighbors could see that we were new campers and came right over, introduced themselves to us and helped us get set up. The taught me how to make a fire and told campfire stories to the boys.
The boys quickly met friends. Danny, age 4, turned out to be a real ladies man. At the beach yesterday, he entertained an entourage of about 7 young ladies all around 12 and 13 years old. They thought he was a hoot and came looking for him at our campsite last night. Joey also made several friends. Two young boys, Zach and Brock were his best buddies and together they were spies and played on the "mountain" which was a rocky knoll at the end of the beach.
Last night, we had a thunderstorm at 3 a.m. Having never been outside in a tent during a thunderstorm, I was a little freaked out. It was really more of a downpour with a little thunder and lightning. I was about ready wake up both boys and put them in the car until it passed, but I waited it out and they slept right through it. I, however, could not get back to sleep. So, on the way home, both boys slept and I stopped every 20 miles for coffee.
As we were saying good bye to our new friends, a stowaway jumped into our van. I had all of the doors open so I could back and a chipmunk decided he'd hitch a ride back to Bangor. I tried to shoo him out, but he dove under our gear. I had to clear the entire van out of our belongings before he would leave. I then tried to repack the van. That was an experience as it had gone together like a puzzle the first time and it didn't quite fit the same the second time.
I have to say that this was one of the best weekends I've had in a long time. We had fun as a family of three. I proved that I could chase two boys, put up a tent and cook over an open flame and most importantly, God proved to me again that He would provide for my every need. He provided this trip, friend's for the boys, some quiet time for me, people to come along side and help me and again He showed me the works of His hands in nature. I know He's in control of my crazy, soap opera, Lifetime Movie Network life and He will carry me through and will give me joy while He's guiding me through life.
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