Camping

I have never understood the appeal of camping. I like indoor plumbing. I don’t like bugs and/or insects.

A few weeks ago, three of us sat around a fire pit at the side of a lake and reminisced about our childhoods. My two friends both grew up “in the city.” To them, camping was playing with their cousins, catching lightning bugs, fishing, watching the stars at night. It was a fun time.

I grew up next door to some of my cousins, so we did things together on a regular basis. We lived in the country, where life included catching lightning bugs, playing hide-and-go-seek, and watching the stars at night. Those activities weren’t special; they simply were. At least, back then.

I never considered it camping.

That said, many of my cousins now go camping. There is even a Crazy Compton Cousin Camping Weekend in September. Really.

As much as I would love to join them, I have lightning bugs in my own backyard–and indoor plumbing.