Do you ever have the feeling that life is knocking you over the head with some lesson or another? Like it's saying, listen here, doofus, pay attention before I has to break yer kneecaps? I mean, life could be a little more subtle – I'm not that oblivious.... I think.
We went camping last weekend up near the Boundary waters. We made plans with some friends of ours, and while Tim and his friend T– worked in the morning, C– (T–'s wife) and I and our two dogs drove up early to get a jumpstart on the weekend frivolities. I have to say that the drive was really enjoyable. It's the most I've seen of Minnesota, and it really is a pretty state. We spent a fair amount of time along the shores of Lake Superior, and the fog rolling in over the water was quite picturesque. As a bonus, we saw a family of moose and a fox on the last leg of the trip. The two dogs tried to intimidate the moose with barks and growls, but the moose seemed completely unimpressed.
Things started to unravel a bit when we got to the campsite, though. We were immediately covered with mosquitoes and flies, and various other tiny biting creatures, and it was hot and muggy. Now I can deal with heat decently well, but I am a complete wimp when it comes to either bugs or humidity. Particularly bugs. The two dogs were wigged out by the new situation and the bugs also, so the process of unpacking the car and setting up camp was much more complicated than it really ought to have been. By the time Tim showed up, I was covered with mud, compulsively slapping myself to ward off mosquitoes, and frustrated.
By the next morning, we were seriously reconsidering our options. It had rained all night long, our camp site was deteriorating quickly into a mudpit and insect breeding ground, and the forecast was calling for increased wind and storms that night. We decided to make the most of it and go out on a quick hike and then re-evaluate when we got back. But then C– locked the keys in T–'s car. His beautiful, polished BMW. His baby. Just so you know, BMWs don't mess around. If you don't have a key in hand, it's next to impossible to get in and unlock it. This is no put-a-coat-hanger-in-through-the-window type of situation.
At this point, I was feeling complete sympathy for C–. I have been in a similar situation so many times in my life. The early part of my adult life was rife with one episode after another of me locking myself out of something or other. I tended to obsess about setting up contingencies for lock outs, and at least one friendship was formed when I had to ask an acquaintance for a ride when I had locked myself out – she told me that if we were going to be friends it would soon enough be the other way around, and we might as well get used to it. And so a friendship was born.
The funny thing is, I suddenly got better about the whole thing when I discovered that if I knew that there was no back up, no spare set of keys, no convenient window to crawl through, then I tended to not lock myself out. Which made me realize that I could choose to be better about it in some situations, and if I could in some, then I should in all situations. Voila! It's not to say I'm cured, but I've only had one incident in the last five years. Not too bad.
And so we found ourselves waiting for a tow truck driver in a campsite twenty miles from the nearest town. Which is when I did the sketch of the flowers that you see up above. I could do the sketch from the relative safety of our mesh-walled canopy. I had also brought my camera, but there was no way I was going to go traipsing around while the bugs feasted on me. So this sketch is the sole evidence that we were up there. Unless you count all the bug bites.
So what's this lesson I brought up? This is my ultimate conclusion. That you can make of a situation whatever you want to make of it. It's your choice. I was really impressed with T– and C–. If ever there was a situation oozing with opportunity for marital strife, this was it. C– clearly felt horrible, and T– was obviously frustrated, but they held it together with love and consideration for each other. And dang it all, we managed to have a good time anyway. On our way back home, we managed to watch the tail end of a Harley parade in Duluth, find some great barbecue, and enjoy a tasty dinner on the shores of Lake Superior in good company. If you equip yourself with patience, adaptability, a heavy dose of humor, and good friends and even better spouses, then you can find enjoyment no matter what string of bad luck you encounter.
All in all, I had some great food (there's nothing like breakfast when you're camping), a chance to sketch, an opportunity to see Minnesota, and we cemented some new friendships. Life's not half bad, when you're open to it....
Happy Fourth everyone! And congratulations to Meredith and Gerrit, who have a beautiful newborn baby girl as of 6:07 Monday night!
3 comments:
If you prepare for an exit, more likely than not you'll take it.
I quite agree with you on not preparing for a contingency.
Strange isn't it that often awkward moments tend to stick in the mind as memories as opposed to those that went well because one expected them to.
And oddly enough those awkward moments transform themselves into fond memories. The best kind of memories!
I agree. After time puts distance between then and now, awkward memories are actually recounted with a smile and fondness :)
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