Deep Creek 2008!

Over 20 years ago my mom initiated the family weekend at western MD's Deep Creek Lake. At first it was just 7 or 8 of us staying in a one-bath A-frame (Aunt Sharon & I shared a pull-out couch; Jon & Josh slept in an unfinished loft. One of the 2 bedrooms had a toilet in the corner--functional--but just sitting there like an arm chair. I guess that made it a bath and a HALF.) Since then, there have been years where it was only 3 people and years when extended family was bursting out of two huge rental homes. Only two things have remained unchanged: Uncle Steve & Aunt Joan have gone every time, and there is always good fellowship around fishing and food.

This year Alan & I started our Deep Creek weekend on a whim--one day early! On Wednesday Alan said, "I'd love to just leave now and rent a camping cabin halfway." It was the eve of Evelyn's 4th birthday, and we'd planned on spending it at the zoo for an "ice cream w/the polar bears" event. So we let Evelyn decide what she wanted for her birthday--to go to the zoo or go camping--and she picked camping. (I LOVE this kid!) That began a flurry of packing everything in time to get to our campsite before dark.

Alan cracks me up. He thinks packing should take 5 minutes, and is usually frustrated by the time it takes to gather all the clothes, diapers, toys, bedding, toiletries, miscellaneous gear, and food into our Corolla. And I will say that it takes longer to pack LESS than it does to pack MORE--much more thought involved! To his credit, he jumped right in, no questions asked, and we only managed to forget the games, the kazoos (for the traditional Deep Creek musical ensemble), the worms, shampoo, and makeup (and my mom had me covered for the last two.) So we made a great family memory & kicked off Evelyn's 4th birthday over an open campfire!

Then to Deep Creek--my folks, Jon & Courtney & Anna & Aidan, Joan & Steve all arrived Thursday. Friday brought in Caleb & Amanda (who drove all night from Alabama in their conversion van--and slept there!), Jacob (who drove all night from Connecticut, & slept in said van w/brother & sister-in-law), Shelley, Shannon, Kate & Jay, Barbara, and David & Darcy. We enjoyed fishing, hikes in the woods, hikes to the falls, long talks, hot tubbing, post-season Baseball, game playing, incredible food, and Alan's challenge that we use ourselves as a test sample group (secret ballot) for the upcoming election. Thank you, Caleb and Kate, who obliged me by discussing politics, which I loved and appreciated in spite of the way it mysteriously cleared the room. (For those dying to know, the poll results were dead even.) While I could go on and on here, I must say that it brings me no end of pleasure to be part of a family that embraces the whole spectrum--from those whose ideal model would be the purest form of communism to those who don't want the government to get involved in one more thing. It is so good to listen to one another, consider one another, and be reminded that our deepest passion needs to be "the message you heard from the beginning: we should love one another." (I Jn.3:11)

We really missed Josh & Laura, who had to be in Baltimore to run their Public Moves rehearsals, so a dozen of us gathered at our house Sunday night to visit with them and wish Josh a happy birthday. We also laughed ourselves silly--a nice side-effect of a weekend of less-than-ideal sleep, lots of good eating, and living closely under the same roof!

(Mom, if some of the pictures look familiar, it's because you left your camera here and I, well, uploaded your Deep Creek pics. Don't worry--they're still on your camera!)