May 17, 2011 @ 20:37 EDT

As I took this picture of Kim and Alana asleep in my tent, I was lying in my hammock, suspended between a majestic live oak and a seen-better-days cedar. The campground hosting the semi-annual Paralounge Drum Gathering was just beginning to stir, with bleary-eyed denizens stumbling to empty bladders as wisps of brewing coffee filtered through spanish moss swaying gently in the morning breeze.

It was a beautiful morning, and I'd slept pretty well cuccooned in that hammock. I'd rather have slept next to Kim, but just having her along with me was something I'd been trying to arrange for as long as we'd been courting. This was the fourth attempt, and come hell or high water she was coming this time!

I've been going to the Paralouge for seven years, and while I've camped with friends every time, this was only the second time I've gone with someone, and the only time with someone who genuinely got what it was about, and what it means to me. I love you, Kim.

The next night all three of us slept in the tent. I'd have been content to sleep in the hammock, but it started raining again. I fell asleep squeezed up against Kim, with the the soft sound of rain drizzing through the oak canopy. Ah, life is good.

It was a good weekend. I was sick with allergies through half of it. It was an awesome weekend. And Kim wants to go back. It was more than just a camping trip for her; as the cliche goes, it was a glimpse of a different way of life; a simpler life, surrounded by good people who have built a solid community over the years.

Once again, Kim brought up dreams I've had but not told her about; running a campground, living simply and taking care of the land upon which we lived, away from the bullshit rat race, surrounding ourselves with people we respect and love.

It's a dream I've been slowly working towards for many years now, one small step at a time, and now, I have a partner in crime to help make it happen.

But now, the twilight has all but faded, the snake is done walking in my back yard, and I'm being eaten alive by bugs. Time to go inside.


Posted by Solomon Peachy | Permanent link & Comments | File under: Life and other BS