Intense, in tents

So a man goes to his doctor and says, "Doc, I keep having a terrible reoccurring nightmare. First I'm a teepee; then I'm a wigwam; then I'm a teepee; then I'm a wigwam. It's driving me crazy. What's wrong with me?" The doctor replies, "You gotta relax. You're two tents."

Holy Crap! 1 week. Tonight, a little bit of panic has begun to seep in and is, so far, mixing nicely with the excitement. Enough that I am just outside the "I think I'm gonna puke" zone but within the "Holy Crap!" zone. Sherri keeps telling me that I am more than ready for the 60 miles and I believe her (I think). I am not sure I am ready for the rest of it. Make no mistake. This isn't just a couple of days of walking...this is an emotional, heavy-duty, 3 days. You've seen the commercials. Maybe you've tuned them out - but think about why people are walking. Think about all the love, grief, sadness, hope, and power of it all. It's intense. So you take all of that head on, walk A LONG way, and then sleep in a tent. (Told you, it's in tents.)

Okay. There it is. I will admit it. I am a bit hung up on the sleeping in tent part. The physical and emotional toll is actually a blessing, because I will need the exhaustion. I don't sleep well when I am not in my own bed. We have an air mattress, and I like my roomie - but honestly, after walking that far, I am afraid I am just going to want my own bed. This is not like a fear of camping or a diva thing. It's just a "homebody" thing. I don't sleep well in hotels even. I am sure I will be fine but it has been a source of tent-sion.

I do like camping, or at least the idea of camping. But we heard rumor at the expo that we are sleeping on turf, so it's not going to be truly like camping. Maybe that's the problem. If we were building a fire and toasting up some s'mores, maybe I would be more at ease. If we were doing keg stands on the beach with a 5 foot bonfire, I would be in even better shape to sleep, but alas...

Maybe Sherri will spark up a flashlight and sing John Denver songs to me and I can pretend I am back by the campfire on a Camp Chickami overnight (circa 1984 - REPRESENT!)??

We are walking together tomorrow! Woohoo. Sherri is coming down to my neck of the woods and we will do 10 miles in the morning. Then, we will get our shirts ready and plan our tent decorating. There is a contest at camp for the best decorated tent. We have some ideas that Sherri talks about in her blog (congrats on hitting the $5000 mark, girlfriend!). What Sherri did not mention is the Rock Star competition. We may have to start prepping for that too. I will let you know if we will be singing at camp.

I love Pearl Jam. Maybe we'll sing a Pearl Jam song. Present Tense?