Camping should almost be a requirement if you live in these great, free United States of America. It is one of my fondest memories of my childhood. Camping with my dad always, spontaneously, anywhere, for weeks on end sometimes. One summer we went to Wisconsin to help family friends with their dairy farm by milking cows, painting their huge barn bright red and helping with just about every other chore you could think of. My dad pitched a tent the first day & I found out a few days into this adventure that he intended this contraption to be our home for the next 3 months. My sister & I thought it was funny, until we realized he was totally serious. I went to Dixie (our family friend) and asked if she had room inside:) Then after trying that out I realized I preferred the tent with my Papa & sis.
What a great summer! I learned to drive trucks & tractors (age 13 if my memory serves), we drank fresh cow milk all summer, which I grew to love, and I worked on trucks & machines with my dad among other things. Oh, and I think this was the summer he taught me to hot wire a car; "in case you ever need to steal one" he said. As it turns out I never "needed" to steal a car so the fact that I never remembered that "valuable" lesson is OK with me.
One thing I'm grateful to my father for is that he taught me the value of hard work. I was up on that 2 story ladder with a bucket in one hand & paint brush in the other. You'd never seen so much red in all your life.
Then there was the summer (2 actually) I worked for him in Corpus Christi while I was in high school. I wanted extra money so I found myself to be a roofer. HA! Bet you couldn't have guess that one. Yes, I worked on tile & shingle, repairs & new installs. This one time we were repairing a blue tile roof of some condos on Padre Island that were so steep I about fell off. Slid down quite a way before I caught myself....actually that must've been an angel because how in the world could I have caught myself while sliding down that roof is beyond me. Thank you God for saving me.
How did I get off on that? Well, anyway...too many funny memories to recount now. I might lose my huge following:)
Camping tonight under the big oak trees of the Goebler Farm will be wonderful! Looking forward to teaching Tiernan to pitch a tent & sleep under the stars!
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