When my cup no longer runneth over, to quote the Psalms, I need to recharge and refill. The sounds of true earthly life are what I need, not the man-made clutter noises of concrete, cars, and computer clicks. I require the sounds of critters, a crackling fire, and coffee boiling over the campfire.

I was blessed as a young man to be raised by a good father who believed in the renewing powers of the outdoors, and took me on many a camping trip. We hiked and traversed some pretty wild and remote places. I loved every minute of it. As I transitioned into adulthood, this common love of the outdoors free from the outside world, was a bond we continued to share until his passing. I cherish those memories.

Recently, I had a chance to enjoy and create some similarly wonderful memories with my adult children. While we often camped when they were younger, this was one of the first times we had done so now that they are all adults. We no longer live near one another, and finding ways to be together and connect has been difficult.

But when our local campground was able to open up for visitors, we quickly took advantage of the opportunity, and were able to spend an entire four-day weekend together. We kayaked, joked, teased, laughed, and sang songs to the guitar over a crackling fire. I’m not sure the other campers were as happy with our singing, but we enjoyed it. We sang loud and proud. It was not the rugged and remote outdoor experiences of my youth with my father, but it nevertheless created the same family warmth and sense of connection, as campfires always seem to do. For one long weekend, we were given a chance to remind ourselves of what we have together, that we actually like and enjoy each other, and how our family, while physically distant, is still bonded. We remembered again how our family experieces and connections are uniquely our own. Good times indeed.

It has been difficult for me, sometimes, as they have transitioned to their adult lives, to continue to find ways to deeply connect with them. Our politics have become different, and our communication and conversational vocabularies and reference points rarely interconnect, almost to the point of having seeemingly different languages entirely. I know that is how it should be and must be, as they are all strong, intelligent, thinkers and actors finding their reality and their place in this world. That is a good thing. But it has indeed been hard sometimes, when we see the same world, but use language and terms to reference that same world in a way that’s very different from one another.

Camping together, as adults, thankfully created wonderful new opportunities to re-connect, and understand and truly observe one another as unique and special people. For a few brief and glorious days, we again spoke the same family language.

I will cherish that time.

(c) copyright 2020 by D. James Clark – all rights reserved