Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Journal Entry - A new Leaf ?

Went camping this weekend , upstate mass , near Mount Greylock .  We stayed in savoy forest. We went despite the pending poor weather since we already rescheduled last week due to lightning storms.  Friday night , Lori and I , for the first time camped together , alone.
 We went up Friday night after work.  I got slightly lost , attempting to find the fastest way there.  The GPS also kept telling me to go some retardedly back-ass-wards way.   I didn`t get overly frustrated , I remained calm.  Eventually found our way , got there with just enough daylight to get the tent installed  , quik tarp contraption hooked up ,and bed blown up. The pump didn`t work unless it was plugged into the running car so I had to drag the bed and fill it up at an awkward angle in the brush.  When finally filled with air ,  It didn`t fit in the tent until I squeezed it and folded it as much as I could and then pushed for all my worth.  I did all this with a smile , I was cool , calm and collected.  We pulled out the bedding , the food , I started a fire despite the wet leaves and lack of kindling , got the grill out and hooked up the propane , we pulled out our clothes and books and lantern and flashlight. Essentially we emptied and installed our entire SUV onto this plot of dirt.  I cooked us up some hot dogs while we relaxed around the blazing fire I made.  We made some smores in it a bit later as we wondered at the multitude of stars.
  We slept pretty good.  Next morning it began to drizzle , we were unsure what the forecast was and had no service to check it on my Droid.  We drove a few miles down the road until I had service , saw that we had rain all day , thunderstorms over night and more rain the next day.  That essentially killed all mountain hiking plans. We decided that one night was a good test and we should pack it in and just do some scenic driving down route 7 towards home.    It wasn`t drizzling anymore like it was when we first considered packing it in.  We broke camp down in an absolute downpour. We repacked our SUV to overstuffed-edness as it is rare that camping gear folds back as neatly and tightly during the return process.
  I write this journal , not to describe our camping trip but to highlight the one difference between this event and the horrific vision Lori had of how this weekend was going to turn out.  That difference was Me , and my handling of the variety of torments.  I did not once , throw a hissy fit , nor have a melt down.  There was not one temper tantrum and I broke nothing.  I did not drive around like a maniac or yell and scream at Lori in frustration.  Nothing was thrown , kicked or punched.   I , through the power of mind , breathed deeply during many of these formerly rage-inducing situations , and resolved them with a calm smile.  I joked and laughed at situations that normally would`ve had me spitting.
  Its only Tuesday , But I was able to keep the same positive state of mind , all week. I`m much happier and hope to be able to keep it up .....forever.

No comments: