LeighMo's bit of heaven (or hell)

So, I camped this weekend. We found a State Park about half an hour away (there is a state/national park about every 47 feet 'round here), near Olympia. Got the tent and stuff set up by dark on Friday, and came home around noonish on Sunday.

All three of us needed this....separately and as a collective unit. Nate needed time away from technology...when he isn't working, he's driving, or he's working from home or working on his master's degree online. Or, he's getting phone calls from work, about work he did/will need to do.

Morgan's world right now exists of her being with me all day, and I think a lack of 'her and daddy' time was getting to her. She got tons of fresh air, exercise, one on one time with Nate, one on one time with some friends of his (they are great with her), and not much stress for two days.

I got some time to wander off by myself, and just sit around and talk with Nate, which we haven't been doing lately with all the working that goes on. I told him that I thought Morg's attitude problems and reverting to baby voice was brought on by the fact that she doesn't see him during the day and I am caring for her most of the time....even though I lived with them in GR, they still had a normal amount for them of one on one time; now, I'm here with her and then I'm here with her and her dad. I suggested he spend some time with her, just them, while we were out camping and that I would 'sit out' every few outings or so in the future. Today she is being an angel, getting off the computer right away when I said I had work to do, occupying herself rather than hanging on me....more like the little girl I knew before. I know the move has been hard on her, even if she doesn't realize it.

When we were putting up the tent, it didn't go up easy. We raised it twice and tore it down again because we couldn't figure it out. Almost two hours, we twisted rods and wrestled with nylon to get an 8X12 polygon tent to stay put. And in that time, we worked together on it, telling each other what we needed the other to do, then doing it. I messed up quite a few times (hey, I never claimed to be a structural engineer), and he would undo what I did then show or tell me the right way to do it.

He never raised his voice or blamed me for the pain in the ass way it was going. He never swore, or swung at anything. He didn't walk away or give up. In short, he acted unlike any other man I've seen in the face of adversity or annoyance. I told him that later, and he was slightly bewildered that I would have expected it. Sometimes I realize that the phantoms of my history aren't fully gone yet, but I do realize that Nate will never become THAT kind of man. Partly why I love him so.

So, it was a relaxing weekend for all of us, giving us each a chance to reconnect with each other as well as ourselves. Summer is just starting, and we're planning a few more trips between now and September-ish (or whenever the rainy season starts.)

Here are some snappy shots of the weekend camp-a-thon!