Sleeping Under the Stars

Even though I grew up with a family who loves the outdoors, for some reason it just didn't quite stick with me.  My idea of camping is a hotel room that doesn't have cable, or their continental breakfast doesn't include make-your-own Belgian waffles.

Not to say that I don't camp.

Backpacking through the Rocky Mountains

I'd just rather be doing other things.

like enjoying a cup of herbal tea at my favorite breakfast spot in  Manhattan, New York

or eating crepes in Paris, France on my 40th birthday

or waiting to be served lunch in Yokohama, Japan.

Apparently by "other things" I mean "eat food."

I don't consider myself a wimp.  I'm willing to work hard.

Reading to orphans in Haiti

It's just that I like to relax at the end of the day.

Resting by the Caribbean Sea the day after the picture above.

There I am again with food in my hands.

Yesterday I was chatting with my mom on the phone and I found out why I might enjoy the outdoors, just not camping.

She told me that when she was little, she would sleep in her backyard under the stars... IN A BED!

What?  You slept outside on a mattress?

Yes, on an iron bed, with white sheets and blankets.    It was just like going to bed, except you went to bed under the stars.

Did you do this often?

Oh yes, we had great summers in the backyard, we were always out there.  We lived out there.  We played night games with the neighbor girls and then Mom would make up the bed and we climbed in and fell asleep.

What size bed was it?

I think it was a twin.

How many of you were there?

I don't know, me, my sister, and a neighbor or two, usually three of us. We would lay on the bed and look at the stars and point out the constellations.  Do kids even do that anymore?

No, I don't think they do.  But now I know what tradition I want to start when I have grandkids.  They can fall asleep after playing Colored Eggs.  Who knows?  I may even join them!

This post features:

RUTH RASMUSSEN BUCHANAN (1946-2015)

My mother 

me --> Ruth Rasmussen Buchanan