The Simple Things in Life

Weekends spent with myself (and myself only) are as rare as a 90 degree day in January…in Minnesota.

This weekend spontaneously turned into one of those rare treats. It was a bit ironic that the week that both little man and I were sick was concluded by a weekend spent healthy and solo. Time spent away from each other is chicken soup for both of our souls.

What does a single late-twenty-something do with “free time”?

Hell if I know!

I started by meeting some friends for a pontoon ride on a local lake. Pure bliss. The sun beating down on the water, good company, and cold beverages were medicine for my soul. Sure, I had EVERY INTENTION of being productive at home….but to be able to get up and go, without making sure others have used the bathroom, have Blanket, or are in need of a nap, I digress.

I couldn’t resist traipsing around town, checking out a clothing store that is hell to bring a toddler to. Finding some AMAZING deals. Spontaneously spending my free Saturday night with a great friend from High School whom I don’t get to see often enough. Laughing. Having a few (more) adult beverages. Dancing to live music. Sleeping, uninterrupted.

My weekend was filled with a million simple things most single child-free people take for granted. It was blissful. It was calm. It was perfect….However, my heart prevailed and I was damn happy when life returned to me and little man. We might not live life to the beat of a single person’s drum, but I honestly do love the beat we live by.

It's been a while.

I have been extremely out of touch with this little corner of the internet...and I have zero excuses...well...except for the fact that life has been getting in my way.

Work life.
Family.
Friends.
Traveling (nothing huge, just a camping trip here and a trip to the cabin there....OH! I can tell you about CAMPING...exciting, right? Yeah yeah yeah...just bare with me!)

So...I got a little bug up my rear and decided I was going to take little man camping. Sure, I'm a girl who loves to wear a dress, but I am never afraid to get dirty. I had all of the supplies I'd ever need:

Tent
Air Mattresses
Car adapted pump for said air mattresses
flash light
swiss army knife
cooler
wicked awesome campfire starting skills
sleeping bags
bug spray
sunscreen

You get the point.

Because this was such a spontaneous idea, I planned on going to a State Park, but wasn't able to make a reservation...I was winging it.

OF COURSE that weekend, well, the particular friday we were set to leave, HUGE tornado producing storms were destined for my state park of choice. I was pretty bummed out until a little light bulb went off in my head that, duh, there are over 100 state parks...I could just head the opposite direction of huge said storm. Go me.

So, instead of heading north, I headed south. A very small voice inside of me shouted "southern MN has been TORNADO ALLEY THIS YEAR...SERIOUSLY" but doggone it, I was taking my little man camping if it was the last thing I did.

As we headed out of town, it was raining so hard you could barely see 10 feet in front of your vehicle. Little man thought it was awesome....all I could think was that I hoped it would stop raining by the time we got to the park (unbeknown to me, the highway we had been driving on flooded a mere 15 minutes after we had left town, I digress).

Friday night we really lucked out (weather wise). As it turned out, two huge cells were north and south of us...but we managed to set up shop in an area that avoided the danger.

Saturday morning came. Breakfast was had. We hiked to a small waterfall. Little man played on their small playground for a bit. We settled down for an early afternoon nap....and was woken up by the park ranger telling us we were under a tornado watch until 10pm that night.

Awesome.

In a nutshell, a call from my father at 7pm to warn me of a nasty storm headed in my direction was enough for me to pack up the site within 40 minutes and head home. We were only an hour out of the cities...I didn't want to press my luck two nights in a row. Life is too short to be taken out by a giant oak tree because I HAD TO GO CAMPING.

All in all, camping was a success. There are things I would do the same the next go-around...and things I would improve on. With the state parks sticker on my front window, I'm confident there will be at least one more trip in our near future.