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Thursday, September 22, 2011

On Holiday from Real Life


Update: Found out there's a hotspot in the campground so I brought the laptop just to be able to communicate with my daughter, who's due to arrive here this evening. Hi, blog friends, from lovely Big Sur, California!

It’s time to shut down the busy brain for a while. We’re off to Big Sur and the beautiful California coastal redwoods this week for an annual AA campout, where the only challenge is the hike to the restrooms at night. I always come back grateful to have a bathroom with toilet, tub, and hot water in my own room. At the campground, this is my own room:


We leave behind the challenges of maintaining hearth and home. This month has been especially taxing. A new computer required, thanks to the rogue sprinkler that watered my desk through the open window. Unexpected and costly automotive work on our 11-year-old pickup was another blow. I’m thankful we had a savings account. My head, as usual, wants to add a cranky “But” to that last statement, but I won’t let it.

Got almost no sleep last night, thanks to my head and its itty-bitty-shitty committee. So I’m punishing it by making it stand in the corner today. This is what it looks like:


Notice the condition of its nose. It has suffered from nosing around in places that are none of its business. In AA, we are reminded over and over again that our business is between our noses and the back of our heads. Everything from our nose outward is none of our business. When I try to exert control over the world Out There, I’m mucking about in someone else’s business without skill. My head likes to think it is skilled at that work, but I’ve noticed a total lack of success in that department and I suspect my head suffers from denial and delusion.

So, it’s off to the woods with us, without cell phone coverage, wi-fi, or any other distractions. We sleep in a tent and cook on a propane stove, and there are no schedules to keep, no bills to pay. Well, I can’t forecast the bills part. Lord willing, and the creek don’t rise….


And I got a big miracle sendoff: My dead watered computer rose from the dead!!!! The mail came as we were packing, and in it, my resurrected friend!!!! The tech guys, whilst doing the autopsy, found the corpse still breathing, patched it up and sent it home. Miracles happen!!!! I'm a happy camper! (And I had just got the new "puppy" trained.... Well, I guess our young housemate has got herself a computer, courtesy her grandfather and me. It was a happy moment all around.)



12 comments:

Titus said...

Good post. Have a great time.

Brian Miller said...

woot. have a great time...taking some R & R this weekend myself...just me and the wife...

Lou said...

I have been many places in this big world, but Big Sur is not one of them. I don't know why I missed it, and hope to rectify that some day.

Peace be with you, woman.

Andrew said...

Have fun and relax.

steveroni said...

Is that SNOW in them thar hills?

What a getaway, and you'll return so refreshed and happy--refreshed?
And meetings, too? It is like I say...'www' means "What a Wonderful World", and you are taking part.
Blessings to all who are there.
PEACE!

Bagman and Butler said...

Sounds like serenity to me.

Rachel Fox said...

A new puppy - joy. Photos for h please, on your return!
x

the walking man said...

Enjoy the trees and flowers you don't have to tend.

Enchanted Oak said...

Rachel, in the States, saying "the puppy" in a certain context refers to an inanimate object...often complicated or powerful. Sorry. I went back and stuck quotes around the word and clarified it. International slang issues ~ interesting communication breakdown there.

The Bug said...

Have a great time - that looks like a gorgeous place to recharge. And a big woot on the computer! That's fabulous.

Syd said...

Have a great time. I am sure that it will be beautiful there. Glad that the computer was resurrected. Awesome what the techie guys can do.

Zed said...

Dear Chris
This was just sent to me and I thought of you! Hope you are having a wonderful holiday! Zed
xx

Dear Lord,
Every single evening
As I'm lying here in bed,
This tiny little Prayer
Keeps running through my head:

God bless all my family
Wherever they may be,
Keep them warm
And safe from harm
For they're so close to me..

And God, there is one more thing
I wish that you could do;
Hope you don't mind me asking,
Please bless my computer too.

Now I know that it's unusual
To bless a motherboard,
But listen just a second
While I explain it to you, Lord.

You see, that little metal box
Holds more than odds and ends;
Inside those small compartments
Rest so many of my friends.

I know so much about them
By the kindness that they give,
And this little scrap of metal
Takes me in to where they live.

By faith is how I know them
Much the same as you.
We share in what life brings us
And from that our friendships grew..

Please take an extra minute
From your duties up above,
To bless those in my address book
That's filled with so much love.

Wherever else this prayer may reach
To each and every friend,
Bless each e-mail inbox
And each person who hits 'send'.

When you update your Heavenly list
On your own Great CD-ROM,
Bless everyone who says this prayer
Sent up to GOD.Com