Camping is an activity that I spent most of my forty plus years believing I had no interest in and absolutely no use for. And dont you just love it when circumstances present themselves which shatter long standing beliefs?

After the passing of my dear mother, it was her wish that my family and I did something that would enhance our togetherness in her memory. For weeks, I struggled with how I was going to fulfill her wishes. Nothing seemed just right, and the few ideas I had just didnt seem lasting enough.

Then, one day I stopped into a local grocery store that I seldom use, but it was convenient at the time so I rushed in through the front door, with only my urgent grocery needs in mind. As I was passing their bulletin board with local ads, business cards and such, a flyer jumped out at me with the following words in big, bold lettering:

Family Camping is Just What You Need!

Well, I certainly didnt think my family needed camping, but for some reason that headline compelled me to take a closer look. Below the headline, there was a photo of a motor home for sale and the flyer went on to say that the sellers wife had just passed away and he no longer could maintain the motor home by himself and was forced to sell. He said the motor home would be perfect for a family looking to enjoy the togetherness that camping afforded, and for which he and his wife had so many fond memories.

Jumping ahead about six weeks

My husband and I found ourselves backing our new travel trailer into our driveway excitedly for the first time, with no idea of the joy this box on wheels was about to bring to our lives. We didnt end up purchasing the motor home shown on the flyer, but we did go look at it and got quite a camping education from the seller. And it was that visit which put the notion into our heads that perhaps camping would be a wonderful experience for us and our two daughters and the lasting memories would be a fitting tribute to my own mother as well.

How we found and picked up our new toy is another story in and of itself, and I will blog about it very soon. But for my purposes here, I want to illustrate the merits of staying open to any possibilities that cross your path, because you never know when a new adventure is right around the corner.

Because we got our trailer late in the season, we only managed to squeeze in three camping trips before the winter weather set in. But oh what trips they were! From the very first campground we pulled into, it became abundantly clear that this was the best investment we had ever made.

I had never relaxed on a vacation so much and enjoyed nature and the outdoors to the extent that our new hobby permitted. And our children played, explored and had experiences that will remain with them for life. My husband, well, lets just say hes already looking at our next trailer and he will gladly take any proud camper up on the offer to look inside, and show him around their perfect, model.

So, I will say this to you If a headline jumps out and you and says: Family Camping is Just What You Need! Take 2 minutes to stop and consider the message, you may be very glad you did!