Beside the still waters and bicycling against the wind. It's all good

Camping season began for us last week.  Took our first trip to the lake for a few days.  The weather cooperated magnificently.  

During a conversation with a friend of mine I mentioned that we were planning to camp at a nearby lake.  He said "Why in the world would you drag your camper 25 miles away when you could just stay at your house and enjoy your lovely back yard?".  That's a valid question from a non-camper.  But if you're a seasoned camper, you know the answer.  I don't need to explain.  

Our daughter gave us a sign for decor in our RV that has the words "....He leads me beside quiet waters."  Ps 23:2.  

Quiet waters.  The peaceful presence of the Creator.  Taking long walks through the woods surrounded by evidence of His glory and majesty.  Lord of all creation, of water, earth and sky.... Leaving the cares of life behind and just hanging out with the One who has it all under control.  

It's how we recharge our batteries.  Time of renewal.  

No leaves on the trees and brown surroundings might make you think there's no beauty to be seen.  Check out what was visible because of the lack of foliage and greenery:  

Note the cool looking plate-like fungi formations on this tree.  Don't you think it looks like a place setting for squirrels?  We might not have seen this dining room for rodents if the trees and bushes were dressed in their summer greenery.

Speaking of rodents, we came across this trapped rodent.  Identification, anyone?       

So, what else do non-fisher people like us do when we camp?  It was too early in the season for riding our jet ski or swimming.  

We hooked up an old TV outside our camper, utilized our Verizon hotspot, and....did what all college basketball junkies do.  We watched Wichita State and KU basketball play in the Big Dance.  (The Cats had already left the dance or we would have watched them too)   It was a perfect setting for watching the games. 

And.  We rode our bicycles.  Last year while camping in Oklahoma, it seemed like a good idea to purchase el-cheapo bikes from a Walmart nearby.  Here is mine:

When I'm riding it, the hubby and my son-in-law immediately start humming the Wizard of Oz tune that goes along with the witch riding her bike.  Which doesn't necessarily amuse me.   The bike is cute, and it was cheap.  Little basket on the handlebars, cup holder, even has a cellphone holder!!   Those are its only redeeming qualities.  It is only designed for flat-lands and non-windy days.  I think the tires are too fat.  Uh, perhaps it's really ME that's too fat.  Whatever, it is ridiculously difficult to pedal.  Even my quite athletic daughter had trouble with it.  My friend Georgia has recommended that I get some sort of battery operated pedal assist gadget that will help move the pedals on slopes and in high wind.  She's thinking of getting one.  Sounds tempting. 

we were blessed with such gorgeous sunsets!!

The worst part of camping is always packing up and returning home.  The best part of coming back home is planning our next camping trip.  

We have camping fever and I have no intention of looking for a cure.  

Camping is the cure.  It takes us away from everyday stresses and adjusts our perspective in a way that makes life much better.   Therapy by none other than the One who designed us in the first place.   Good medicine.   

  

Employment Enjoyment

What was your first job?  Mine was probably babysitting my cousins.  But my first real job was the summer between my 8th and 9th grade years of school, if memory serves  me.  

Pioneer Seeds came to our fair little city of Minneapolis Kansas towards the end of the school year offering a gold mine opportunity for those wanting a summer job.  $1.40 per hour.  Boys and/or girls, equal pay.  I couldn't suppress my excitement at making that kind of cash and I eagerly signed up, along with many classmates. We were going to own Minneapolis by the time summer ended.  

The appeal of cash was more important than the details of the job, and with that kind of money dangled in front of me I just signed up without reading the fine print.  Day one arrived and we were loaded up in school buses and hauled out into the countryside where they unloaded us into massive fields of corn. Too far from town to run home.  

Turns out we were hired to walk down rows of corn and reach to the top of every  corn stalk and pull out the tassels.  I'm pretty vague on all things agricultural but it seems like this is some sort of plant life reproductive system deal. Involving pollination perhaps? The word hybrid comes to mind, but I may be way off. 

 Money.  I was there for the money.  

 Anywho, I found myself in a field of corn with about 20 of my closest friends. There I was, all of 5 foot tall, peering up at the top of corn stalks and wondering exactly how to reach those tassels.  I think maybe we chopped sucker stalks away from the base of the corn stalks too and with my vertical challenge that may have been my main task.  But I know I pulled some tassels out also.  On the shorter stalks.

The rows were often muddy from the irrigation system.  It seems like maybe the irrigation system even started up once while we were walking the rows.   There was always the threat of seeing rats or snakes although I don't recall seeing either.  We girls tried to make the job more fun by singing at the top of our lungs as we worked the rows.  And laughing hysterically at the lyrics we could make up.  It was kind of fun. 

I don't recall how many weeks we were hired on to work, but I do recall that well before the intended duration of the job was completed I developed allergies.  Either to corn pollen or work.  Either way, the checking account I opened prior to starting the job seemed pretty pointless.  I used the money I earned to buy a purse.  Not to carry money... probably just kleenex.  I did have allergies, after all.  Allergies, and no money.  And later that summer on a shopping trip I actually left that purse unattended in a Salina department store where it was quickly stolen.  Never to be seen again.  

Oh what a gold mine that cornfield job turned out to be.  

That was my first job.  And now I'm sort of semi-retired from my long career as a radiologic technologist.  Taking x-rays in a hospital and/or clinic setting for over 40 years.  I have no regrets.   It's been a rewarding and fulfilling career though not without occasional ickiness and challenges, of course. Every job has challenges and ickiness.    Attitude is everything, though.  

We live in a new housing development with lots of construction going on.  Last summer I went for a walk through the neighborhood and was greeted by a happy smiling young man driving a truck slowly to a construction site.  He smiled, waved and said "Hello, how are you today?"  We didn't have a long conversation but I was impressed with how pleasant and friendly he was. Clearly a happy employee.  Probably using his skills to build beautiful homes for happy families.

I assumed he was a carpenter on a new home, but then I looked closer at the truck he was driving.  It was a tank truck.  The writing on the tank indicated it was a septic cleaning service.  For porta potties.  Of which there were several at the various construction sites.  

This friendly, pleasant man was removing human waste from portable toilets.  

And happy to do so.

I think I heard him singing funny songs with made-up lyrics as he drove off.  😁

Yes, attitude is everything.  

And the corn is as high as an elephant's eye.  🎵   🎵

Oh what a beautiful morning.... sing it, people!  

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,"  Colossians 3:23