To make a very long story very short, it did rain, but at the right times, mostly.
We left on Thursday evening, got to the park and set up camp with the mother of all tarps over everything. Slept peacefully that night with short smatterings of rain through the night, but not enough to make things soggy. Friday morning was lovely, warm-breezy, a few clouds and a little blue sky showing. But while we sat at one family's picnic table drinking coffee, we felt just a few raindrops here and there. Certainly not enough to make us stop drinking coffee - we DO have priorities, you know - but enough to get Kenny's attention. He looked at Ben and said, "I'll pay for the rest of your stay and even throw in twenty bucks if you'll go home." We considered the offer because we really like our friends, but in the end, decided there was enough blue sky to keep us safe.
Friday passed warm and lovely. We walked on the Potomac River beach, played football and cards, and generally had a wonderfully relaxing day. Then came Friday night.
The kids (10 of them, between 12 and 18 years old) decided they would play hide and seek in the dark, with the object being to get back to base before "it" caught you. As soon as I heard the description of the game I knew it would end with someone getting hurt. I wasn't disappointed.
The adults were sitting around the fire talking when, in a lull in the conversation, we heard a very loud, sharp CRACK followed by moaning. And because I am a mother and have the gift of interpretation as well as eyes in the back of my head, I knew it was Elijah. The camper behind us had an awning sticking out one side, with metal support beams diagonally from the corners of the awning to the bottom of the camper. Elijah came out of the darkness at full speed and caught the beam just slightly above the bridge of his nose. His feet came off the ground until he was horizontal in mid-air, and he landed with a thud. He remembers the hit, then waking up with all of us huddled around him. His first words? "Hey, I was SAFE!" We knew he would be fine. A little ice, a little Advil, Dad waking him up every few hours, and NO bruise - he was highly disappointed. He wanted at least a black eye to show for it.
So next year? We're playing shuffleboard.
Be thankful ~
Karen
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