Sailing Into Year Three

When I stop & think about where I am from three years ago, I almost can't believe it. At that time I went from being a single mom with a crazy dating life to being for all intents & purposes married with a stepfamily.  Yikes!  Did it happen really fast or is it just my impression of it? On the left is the card that I gave to Xing Fu--so representative of who we are as a couple(except I ask, where is the pole for that kite??)  Inside it says, "The adventure continues..." That too is representative of us.  It has definitely been quite the adventure from when we first sailed together down on the West River to now--sailing off into the uncharted waters of being a "blended family". It hasn't always been smooth waters (to continue this sailing/water metaphor), choppy to be sure & occasionally gale force winds--to be quite honest, this relationship has been one of the hardest things that I've worked at in my life.  I think that is a good thing though--my commitment to what we're building together is what drives me & the thought of sailing off into the sunset together at some point in the future.... This post is dedicated to Xing Fu--I feel so lucky to have met you & that you have chosen me to spend your life with.  I wouldn't trade it.  143

Fake Camping Enthusiasm

 I wrote about the Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge in my last blog post & I mentioned that I was camping during the days I was down there.  Xing Fu & I decided that to save money it would be a good idea to find a campground & pitch a tent.  Sounded like a great idea to me except for one little thingy....July heat. But we decided that perhaps an addition of electrical & a box fan might help.  The tent was something I'd purchased 10 years ago in the hopes that my ex-husband & I might find some way to work towards saving our marriage--it obviously didn't work because it has been sitting in storage under my house completely unopened.  And it's a great tent--6 person dome with 2 "rooms".  So I found it, dusted it off & now it has a new life.  My mom said to me that I had "fake camping enthusiasm"--meaning that I was too much of a princess & that roughing-it was decidedly not my way of doing things.  She really doesn't know me all that well.  I have camped before--I do like it & I was truly enthusiastic about camping out during Screwpile--sure beats $150 a night at the Holiday Inn for 3 nights.  Plus the bathhouse was very nice--rustic certainly, but clean & serviceable--and if necessary I can really rough it--bucket use has not been ruled out in the past--I am not really such a girly-girl.  Even after sailing all day & then partying later, it wasn't too difficult to come back to the campgrounds & chill.  But this camping adventure had even more meaning to me:  another test.


Xing Fu & I have decided that we don't shrink away from testing the boundaries of our relationship quite often.  It seems to be a trend in fact, starting from the very outset.  Remembering back to the huge snow storm (now that it is a blistering & record-setting 100+ degrees, it seems soooo far away) in February very early on in our relationship, we were stranded together for 3 days.  That was a test--so early--I remember writing about it.  Certainly our recent road trip was yet another test & now here we were camping out for 4 days--could we pitch the tent, & take it down without killing one another?  What about the rain?  We did have a thunderstorm the last night & we had to take down the tent after the rain--certainly more difficult.  As has been with everything we've thrown up to pluck the ties that bind us together, we are both as even-keeled & goal-oriented--therefore no drama.  Xing Fu asked what else are we going to do to test our relationship?  I said mebbe we should give it a rest--but I think we both agree that these "tests" are more adventures & explorations and have brought us closer rather than farther apart.  There has been some discussion about camping this fall in the Shenandoah when the leaves are turning....