A Week of Primitive Living

As you read this post, I am spending a week with my friends Anne and Rebecca at this darling cabin. Nathan and Anne’s son are at camp, swimming, riding around in canoes, and possibly braving the ropes course. 

I am braving a different kind of adventure—a week without Internet access or cell service. When Anne told me that we wouldn’t have either, I must say I was thrilled. As much as I love modern conveniences like phones and computers, lately I have felt the pressure to stay chained to them from morning 'til night. The opportunity to unplug felt like a gift from God, so I decided to go for it full-on and leave my laptop at home, too. I do plan to write, but with pen and paper. (Remember those?) I also plan to read books, spend time with God, see what He has to teach me through some speakers that we get to hear from in the evenings, and just enjoy being with my friends. I can’t wait to share what God does through this week of simple and a bit primitive enjoyment.

Would you like to share in my challenge? How about unplugging from devices for a day or even half a day? When I get home, you can share how God used the time to refresh your spirit, help you connect with your family, or be productive in a different way.

May God show you amazing things this week, no matter what you are doing!    

"The Best Week Ever"

Here is a picture of our famous cabin:

Isn't it cute?

Mom, Dad, Kristy and her kids, and Nate and I are still coming down from what we all agreed was one of the best weeks we have ever spent at the cabin. We went from one weather extreme to another (rain on Days 1 and 2 then ending our week in the 100's), but decided in advance not to let rain or heat spoil our fun. It was one of those weeks when we just enjoyed being there away from work, the constant pressure to be on the computer, and reality in general. On those two rainy days, we enjoyed the relaxation of hunkering down (I don't think I have ever used the term hunker before) with beads, Shrinky Dinks and Play Dough. When we went fishing, each kid caught at least one fish. We met a cousin for dinner, took our traditional trips to Columbia, Cover's Apple Ranch and The Sugar Shack, played Ping Pong, rode the train in Jamestown for Mom's birthday, played mini golf, watched the original version of The Parent Trap for the hundredth time, and discovered a great ice cream and lunch shop with the coolest name in the world--Here's the Scoop--that has probably been in Jamestown forever but was new to us. We loved it so much that we ate there twice. It was one of those weeks that we didn't want to end and still feel refreshed for taking.

It continues to amaze me how God can use the same old cabin to enrich our lives year after year. It doesn't matter if we do the same stuff, discover new treasures, or get a lovely combination of both; it's our special spot, filled with memories where we are also creating fresh ones. We are all determined to go back at least one more time this summer, but if last week is all we get, I will be satisfied, because it was perfect.

Now, I will take this opportunity to share a few highlights as promised. (Don't you just love looking at other people's vacation photos, featuring people we don't know and places you didn't experience? Oh, I know, there's nothin' better.)

 Rainy Day Crafts

Fresh from Cover's - The Best Pie in the Universe 

Nate the Great, my handsome boy

Success! 

(Nathan (aka Nate), Haley, Kai, Devon)

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Proof that I was on the trip too

Who will be next to write in the cabin journal? 

A Week Off

These are pictures from last summer's trip to the family cabin in Sugar Pine. See how relaxed everyone looks? Well, except for the picture of Dad cleaning fish; Nathan looks pretty grossed out there.

Notice that I'm not in any of the shots above. That's because Mom is always the one taking the pictures.

Tomorrow, we are headed back to the cabin for an entire week, which is why I won't be blogging this coming Wednesday like I usually do. The only person missing is Christian, who has to work (insert sad face here).

My family has been going to the cabin since my parents, Dad's siblings, and their parents built it in the mid-70's, and the rosewood paneling on the walls reflects that. The decor includes mismatched furniture, an oil-on-velvet painting of a mountain lion that freaked us kids out when we were little, and a chandelier that Grandma bought at a garage sale that apparently inspired the building of the cabin. (Instead of buying a light fixture to go with the cabin, we built a cabin to go with the light fixture; that's the way it's done in my family.) My childhood is filled with memories of playing Little House on the Prairie around the tree in the side lot, going to Columbia State Park where we had picnics at the schoolhouse and could not leave without a trip to The Candy Kitchen, and fishing at Pine Crest Lake. If we got bored, we looked through a set of children's encyclopedias from the 1950's, Time Life books about the Old West, and Dad's yearbooks. (Those kept us in stitches for hours on end.)

Now my sisters and I are creating those memories for our kids. We have boys, except for poor Haley, the lone girl, so they do more sword fighting in the back yard than playing Little House, but we still can't leave Columbia without a trip to that candy store, and those yearbooks are providing laughs for the next generation. (The truth? Kristy and I do most of the laughing. I'm sorry, but what were they thinking with those '60's hairdos?)

We thank God constantly for providing this wonderful get-away spot. We could care less if the kitchen counter looks like it belongs in an episode of The Brady Bunch, showers must be announced to avoid being scalded if someone happens to run water or flush the toilet, and we have no idea what is living in the dungeon downstairs. (Dungeon sounds so much cooler than crawl space where we store sleds in winter and inner tubes in summer.) It's the cabin, where tacky, dirty, Christmas mugs in August, and wondering if we will find out that the bathroom floor needs replacing when someone falls through it is half the fun.  

So that's where I'll be on Wednesday when I'm not blogging. I promise to include pictures in my post-vacation post.

Happy Summer!