Quote of the Day: "That's not a sport, that's just hanging on."
What I'm reading: Size of Thoughts.

I went camping for the first time this weekend, with my daughter's girl scout troop. My goal was to wait it out until it was time to go home. In this, I accidentally discovered the true merit of camping, which is: accepting loss of control. Control is an illusion, and nothing carries this message home like camping.

Not realizing this at the time, I keep idly looking for the Thing That Makes Camping So Appealing. At first I thought it was

1) Sleeping outside, on the ground, in a tent. The fresh air! The owls! The novelty! But no. It's accepting the illusion of shelter amidst the reality of bears, skunks, and teenage boys in neighboring campsites.

2) Fire. The mesmerizing flames! The warmth! The smores! Yes, but also, eye-stabbing smoke, interminable wait for hot water/ cooked hot dogs/ or even just the flames. Constant poking, blowing, kindling gathering, paper crumpling required. You cannot actually start a fire until it is ready to start. I don't know where forest fires come from. The myth of Prometheus, obviously, was originally created to explain how you had to get fire directly from the gods if you wanted to eat before midnight.

3) Proximity to tourist attractions. That's actually a perk of camping. While other non-camping tourists are wasting time sleeping in and having automatic coffee maker coffee, campers have been up since dawn or whatever time the teenage boys were up, and are already in line at the ranger station. It is a small illusion of control that you groggily grab with smug satisfaction.

Whatever the secret is, I certainly returned home with a higher threshold for frustration and boredom. If I can camp without whining, I should be able to live in my home without it, too.