Where thou art - that - is Home.
I wonder if she ever tried to make a “home” out of canvas tents, mosquito infested land and freezing temperatures.
We’ve all got them. Those no good, horrible, terrible, very bad days. Today would be one of those days. Jillian and I and the babies spent the morning being spoiled by the Swensons. Things like warm homes, soft beds, food to eat, and tv to watch were just a few of the precious amenities left open to us.
Around dinner time, the boys came and got us to go “home”. We drove up to one tent set up (no flooring yet but that was no surprise), a trailer completely unpacked- in various piles all over the ground and no stoves set up. All I could think of was, And so it begins…
We worked feverishly into the night with screaming, tired, hungry babies; tired, hungry, mosquito ridden husbands, and us with nothing to eat since lunch time. Spirits were low and the temperature was even lower. Our poor boys had been working so hard all day to make sure everything was ready. Even with extra hours of daylight, there is more to be done than hours to do it in.
We made a mental list of things to do in order of importance and set to work. The first thing was mosquito netting. They’re everywhere and they’re vicious! It’s almost comical to watch as we carry babies from one tent to another swatting at hundreds of bugs and mosquitoes just waiting to find one piece of open area to feast upon.
We finally put the babies down for the night, all the while feverishly loading our supplies right to the front of the tent while the other one quickly unzipped the tent door, collected the items with haste, and zipped the door up once more. I was amazed that night at how my lower back ached horribly just from that chore alone.
It wasn’t long before we realized we couldn’t take it anymore, and our bodies agreed with our minds that no matter what the light may say, it was well past time to turn in. The one thing that didn’t get done that day was of course the stoves for the tent. It was so warm during the last two days that somehow we thought we could muster through it.
Boy were we wrong! I’ve been quite cold a few times in my life. Once was arriving in Toronto Canada on the 21st of December after living all of my life in the heat of California and Nevada. The other was when Chase and I were first married and my Christmas gift to him was a winter week touring some of the National Parks in Utah. The night we camped out in Canyonlands at -2 degrees still haunts me to this day.
Last night, was just horrible enough to now be categorized with them. I’m sure I’ve never seen my husband so cold. He was visibly shaking and his teeth chattering added to the noise around me. I was so cold and afraid the baby was too, though he was bundled up ready for the North Pole. Around two thirty in the morning, I still hadn’t slept a wink so I got up, opened my suitcase and began the game of How Many Layers Can You Wear. I got to about 8 and felt a tiny bit better.
I grabbed the baby and snuggled him in with me. I’m not sure if it was the success of the layer game, or the heat from his little body, but I finally caught just a few winks before daylight. He was sweating in the sleeping bag next to me so to keep him warm I opened up my sleeping bag more when all I really wanted to do was to close the “lid” and burry myself inside.
There we lay, my teeth chattering and his head sweating. What a sight we were. I’ve never been so happy to see morning come.
So now, everything is in disarray. We have one large tent set up and Chase and I and the baby are borrowing the cook tent as we set into town today to pick up lumber to do our floors. From there, we’ll build floors and properly construct the tents so they will be (as much as possible) mosquito free.
To add to the minimal bit of sleep we all got, Jillian and Dax and Phi all woke up sick this morning. All of the hours on the road, the back breaking work and the nonexistent sleep, it was bound to happen. It’s just too bad it had to happen now with still so much to do.
Even though we’re here, we’re kind of checked out. A trip into town will be good for us. The hopes of floors and tents set up permanently give us hope for a better tomorrow.
So for now, take care and send us good vibes.
Until next time,
Sleepless and Sickly
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