Dirt.

It's no secret that I'm a bit, shall we say, high maintenance. (No jokes, please!) My husband assures me that I'm not the kind of high maintenance that really bothers him or that gets in the way of every day tasks. He says, "Hunny, you're not exactly the type to be spontaneous and you certainly wouldn't leave the house without checking your make up." He's right, but at least I'm not that kind of girl that requires diamonds and tons of money to keep her happy! Welllll...no, nevermind!

I remember as a kid, standing back and watching as Stephy and Stacie got nice and dirty in their own back yard, only to wash it all off later in the pool. They weren't afraid to dig in the mud, or walk in stones in their bare feet, or get dirt under their fingernails. I was never wild about getting dirty. Call me a brat, a city girl, or just a girly-girl, I just wasn't big on having to wash the back yard off of myself at the end of the day. And I still can't walk in the stones in my bare feet.

It's been 3 summers since Zig and I traveled across this great country in a motorhome. We spent 16 days and nights living in the motorhome, traveling from state to state, visiting the most beautiful places on this earth. I learned a lot about myself on that trip. I learned that I like to be clean. I like to have my hair done and my make up on. I learned that I need to shower every day. I especially like modern conveniences like running water, flushing toilets, and a comfy king-sized bed. Is that a sin? Maybe to some, but it's the truth about Libby. And I guess that's alright.


This all leads me to the title of this post - and a very funny story from yesterday.
Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Scub are camping with the girls in Greenwood - a local state park, much like Poe Valley where I spent most of my 'camping' years. They bought Gram and Pap Wray's camper and are already making good use out of it as they are camping this entire week! They have everything you could think of, from great food to toys for the girls. Zoe is making friends and spending her days at the playground - only to return for meals and bedtime!

So when Stephanie invited us to come out for a night or two this week, she made sure to tell me to "wear old clothes on Brooke." Hmmm. Old clothes. Clothes that can get dirty. Hmmm. I had to laugh- really laugh, because Brooke honestly does not have any clothes in her current 12 month size that are old, or hand-me-downs, or already stained and dirty! And just imagine - my baby doll of a daughter, who normally sports big pink bows and shoes to match each outfit, in old dirty clothes!
When it was time to get changed to head to the campground, I pulled out some capris so that her knees would be covered for crawling, and kept her in the pink Gap onesie she had been wearing, and found a pair of shoes to cover her toes form the dirt. I giggled the whole time I dressed her, thinking of how everyone was going to tease us for not having her in 'old clothes.'

We arrived at camp, loving the environment of campers, playing children, a lake to swim, and the smell of camp fires...
I really had to contain my laughter when cousin Zoe came to greet Brooke - she smothered her with love, hugs, and kisses. Then she looked at me. And looked back and Brooke. She said "Aunt Libby, is Brooke wearing old clothes?" I said, "That's about as old as they get, hunny!" She said, "Well, they look clean." I said, "Yep, they're clean, but they CAN get dirty."

And dirty they did get.
And I loved it!

It took Brooke a little while to get 'down and dirty.' She watched Marlee play in the stones and crawl around the camp site with zero fear. They make such good playmates! They share toys and their binks - and they teach each other their skills!

We spent the entire evening, right up until bedtime, walking Brooke around the site, showing her everything there was to see! We greatly enjoyed visiting with Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Scub, Zoe and Marlee, and Jenn and Mike too! Aunt Stephanie even made Brooke her first camp fire hot dog! She loved it! I had been holding off on the hot dogs - just because they're hot dogs. But we gave it a try last night and she was a big fan! She ate almost half of it and washed it down with some iced tea and cantaloupe! Goodness! What a night!

I loved watching Brooke play, and visit with her special family members!
And even though most people will read this post and laugh at me - I have enjoyed laughing at myself lately, and watching my daughter experience the world and so many 'firsts.'

Her first hot dog, her first cantaloupe, her first camper experience, her first dirt. The bath tub was filthy after her tub last night, and I had to peel a layer of Greenwood dirt out of her digging fingers, but truly, how much better does it get?