Maintenance Minimum

How high is considered high maintenance?

We are taking my parents’ tent camper out into the wild blue tomorrow (no posts for a few days, sorry). It’s our first year using a tent camper, and I’m sort of looking forward to it. It has a bathroom and an ever-so-tiny shower. It’s far from our traditional camping accommodations; we usually borrow a church friend’s fabulous 40-foot motor home. I call it hotel-room camping. RVs have spoiled me over the years.

But this year, my folks bought a tent camper, something to call their own, and they've enjoyed using it over the past few months, so hence the transition. It’s definitely a step down from prior years, quite a huge step down, really, but at least it has a toilet and shower.

We almost had to take an even larger step down. The tent camper had some issues and was going to have to sit in the shop for a week, missing our camping timeline. So Eric approached me with the idea of just plain-ole “tenting” it.

Now, I can survive without make-up and a blow dryer or even a soft bed for a week, and if forced to, I will even use the campground “facilities,” hand held over my nose the entire time. But I can’t -- simply cannot do without a shower for longer than 48 hours. That’s my maximum showerless ability. I will not stoop any lower than this. I can’t stand the needle-like stubble that grows on my legs and under my arms or the super-greasiness of my hair or the prickliness of dry skin, and above all, I have to smell pretty, and my smelling-pretty shelf life is 48 hours; that's when I start to go bad. That’s the date I’ve been stamped with, I guess; it's where the line must be drawn.

So, without hesitation, when my husband popped the tenting-it question, I bellowed a resounding, “Nooooooo!”

Fortunately, the tent camper is mended – miracle of miracles – and our tent-camper expedition begins.

Comments

Sara, I have loved reading both your blogs. You are a great writer...engaging and witty. Thanks for sharing your life. Although we don't get to see each other these days, I think of you and your family often. I miss the ease of living near you and Eric and the fellowship we shared attending Grace EV Free. All that to say, I'm glad we reconnected.
Sarah Markley said…
sooo with you on the shower thing...48 hrs is tops!!

have fun!!

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