My awesome gray bag

One year, how long ago I can't quite recall, I went birthday shopping with my mom at the Army and Navy Store.  Not the girliest place to go and pick out a birthday present, but thanks to Camp Wood Haven and Snow Mountain Ranch, my leatherness (that whole bit will make more sense in future posts; obviously things I need to explain) was in full effect, and I was looking for things that would help me in my wanderings.  I loved this gray bag at first sight.  It has pockets for everything.  It goes across one shoulder so you can have it on your back and then swing it forward to gain access to the pockets.  Because there is a place for everything, I never forget anything.  When I use this bag it is the only time I am guaranteed to have tissues, hand sanitizer, a water bottle, extra batteries, my camera, my wallet, ibuprofen, band aids, wet wipes, cell phone, pens and a sharpie.  Because of this, it tends to come along on our outings.

Recently, my family was gifted a day at Hershey Park through the virtual charter school that my sons use.  A full day at Hershey with catering and parking is not something in the Craig Family Budget, so we were thrilled to be able to go.  I of course grabbed my gray bag so that we would have everything we needed for a successful day.  As I began to open it's pockets, I was praising God for the opportunity to take my children on such an extravagant outing.  We are not the kind of family who take vacations every year or go to theme parks every summer, so this was truly special; a day the kids would never forget.  I went about the work of cleaning out the pockets and restocking necessities, and  I was awestruck at what I found in the pockets: pamphlets from our Scouts sponsored day in New York City to see the Intrepid, ticket stubs from our free day at the Philadelphia zoo, a Knoebel's bracelet from the trip we took courtesy of Phil's parents, a Disney card from our once in a lifetime extended family trip to Disney - a Christmas gift from Grammy and Pappy.  There is a tear in the bag from one of our outdoor adventures, a mud smudge from the mines we went to with our homeschool group, and paint from an art activity we did at an outdoor festival many many moons ago.  This bag is full of memories of simple pleasure, tremendous generosity and family fun.  Whenever I begin to think that I have it so rough, when I feel those pangs of jealousy as my friends head for the beach I will look at this bag and remember it is not the destination.  The trick is enjoying the journey with the people you love.  I don't need a sandy beach, a mountaintop or a theme park, I just need the wonderful people God has blessed me with in this life.  That is more than enough vacation and adventure for me.

By the way, for as long as I have had this bag it still has tons of life left in it.  If you are up for an adventure, a hike, a little letterboxing... give us a call. We'll bring the bag.