What you need

T minus 8 hours and counting until we leave for our camping trip. I don’t remember being this excited since we boarded a plane for San Francisco several years ago. I think I am just itching to get away and this will scratch that spot for a bit.

The sun shines bright outside my window and it is only contributing to my good mood. Only a few meetings, a change of clothes, a few last minute details and the road are between me and a burnt marshmallow.

It’s amazing how basic your needs really are when you stop to look at them. I am a confessed overpacker, but last night as I looked in Cynical’s car already loaded down with so much stuff, I realized that most of it wasn’t even necessary. Most of it just keeps us comfortable. It is all a “want”, not a “need”.

Maybe that’s why I really like camping: it’s basic. It’s all about staying dry, eating and sleeping. It’s that simple. Granted, we aren’t backpacking miles into the forest with what we need strapped to our backs, but it is a reminder of all the craziness we carry when we don’t need to.

Life should be more simple. Not only do we not need all of the physical stuff, but we also need to shed all of the emotional baggage that we lug around. It slows us down. It’s too much to maintain. I grow tired of dusting off my grudges, hard feelings and regrets. Maybe I can leave them behind too.

But I am taking that extra set of batteries and you can’t stop me.

I took the photo here in our home only because I liked the way the light shone through this jar. It also reminded me of canning vegetables with my mom.