The summer of 2013 was a bizarre weather summer. I know it rains every day along the Gulf Coast. I grew up here. Usually for 20 minutes or so in the afternoons and then it is back to hot, humid and sunny. But the Summer of 2013, it RAINED. We really picked quite a time to camp in a popup. Figuring out what to do when it rains was a huge struggle for me. Like when it rains for days at a time. I think this is one of those convenient times of forgetfulness for Phillip. Wait...this was not one of his battles. He worked inside most of the days and didn't have to deal with three energetic children with mud and sand everywhere during these times.
Sometimes we'd go spend a few days back in Mobile at one of the grandparents' houses. Sometimes we'd go check out a museum. We cozied in and read books aloud. We watched DVDs on the computer. But sometimes the rain was so heavy and intense, we couldn't hear the movie being played or the books being read aloud. We all hoped we didn't have to go to the bathroom during one of these downpours. Because the walk was long to and from the popup in the rain! The lightning was super scary in a popup. If it wasn't a severe storm or hard rain, we'd play outside anyway. The rain we got during that summer was unlike any I have ever experienced living in the Mobile area. Or maybe I just noticed it more because the weather had such a huge impact on how my day was to go because we were essentially living an outdoors sort of life.
This is a picture of just underneath my camper during one of the downpours at Dauphin Island. The water was ankle deep under the awning and the outside rug was floating off the ground.
Our little popup, despite the massive amounts of rain we experienced, never did leak. However, it was sometimes difficult to count my blessings while I was on the pity pot regarding being cooped up in my camper with three children. After a month or so, the all-day rains had a devastating affect on my spirit. I really struggled on those days. There were just so many, it seemed. The rain was one thing, but then all the bits of mud and grass that came afterward felt stressful and depressing. It was difficult enough to keep such a small place tidy with so many people in it. The floor feeling clean under my feet still is something that is important to me, for whatever reason. The rain made that part it so much worse. I tried desperately to keep a positive attitude during those times. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn't.
During one such rainy day, in an attempt to lift my spirits and wait out the rain, we visited the Estuarium.
Live Action SCUBA.
This little SCUBA diver needed a kiss from her Mama!
Look out everyone! He does NOT have his license!
Here I sit now, a summer past the one I am writing about, and the weather has been just peachy. A normal amount of rain, normal amount of frogs, buggy, but not overly buggy, humid, but in the regular Alabama / Mississippi sense, and mostly stable conditions. Maybe I felt everything more intensely during that time. Maybe I took the weather too personally, like God was trying to teach me something or show me something and I just couldn't get it. ('Cause it's all about me, right?) :-) Maybe we just picked a crappy weather summer to live in a popup. Who knows?
I am glad for the experiences we had. Some were painful and burdensome. Some were magnificent and exciting. The magnificent overpowered the painful. I can say for certain that my experiences have made me more grateful for my blessings, more able to actually see my blessings for what they are, and have a desire for a more simple life. I have learned much about stewardship and taking care of what I have. Most importantly, I am only now being able to see how limited I am in my ability to be a good steward of the things I already have. And these experiences have given me a new appreciation for the ingenuity of my husband. I wouldn't have dreamed of living this adventure without his unconventional way of thinking.
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