Changing Course

In Years Past

This Summer

I love camping. It's one of my favorite things to do each summer. My dad and I load up the truck and the dogs and head into the mountains to our spot - Dutch Oven Springs. It's the same place we've camped for as long as I can remember, at least the past 20 years. We camp right at the bottom of a small hill with the river directly on the other side, within a stones throw. I love falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the river.

I always make sure to pack a good book (or two), some good snacks, and my fishing gear and I spend my days alternating between those three things. I could walk for hours looking for petrified wood that lies among the rocks surrounding the river and hunting for wild strawberries to munch on. I've seen bear tracks, a mama moose with her baby, and even a wolf up there and I love it. In years past, my dad and I would go camping every weekend but life has gotten so busy that I have to purposely schedule a weekend or two of the summer and save it for camping. Being in the center of God's creation, away from anyone and everything that tends to cloud that up, is amazing.

Camping this summer was no exception. Ella experienced her first overnight stay in the mountains, I outifished my dad, read a good book, and just relaxed. However, our campsite looked vastly different than it ever had before as the river had taken a different course during the spring thaw. It completely took out a section of where we camp. My dad had to build a new fire ring which led us  to set our tent in a different spot and I even had to find a new place to pee as my bathroom tree was gone! Although there had been smaller, more subtle changes each year, this year's difference was very noticeable. There was no denying that our spot would never be the same.

That got me thinking about how my life right now is completely different than it was a year ago There have been huge changes. A year ago, I was still watching Ryan two weeks on/two weeks off and my life revolved around him and that schedule. My day-to-day routine was pretty predictable and life was good. So many things have happened since then that I can't even count - Ryan's cousins coming to live with him and the emotional/stressful mess that turned out to be - losing a dear friend to cancer - a bust in the oil field that cut my hours and caused me to work hitch to hitch, not knowing if my employers would still have jobs from week to week - putting Maggie down - experience changes in, and losses of, friendships - and many more. The biggest change, however, is that Ryan's mom quit her job this summer to stay at home with Ryan and I found myself unemployed. Undeniable changes.

I am excited to say I will start a job as a Para at an elementary school, however, and I am really looking forward to it! It really is a dream job at this point in my life with benefits, great pay, and amazing hours. I get to work with kids all day and then walk out the door at 3 without a thought of lessons plans, curriculum, standards, or any of those responsibilities teachers have. It's going to be awesome!!

Change is inevitable, whether it be in a favorite camping spot or in one's life, and I'm excited to see how God will work in these changes!