Crap, we've gone and spoiled ourselves.

6 February, 2010

We have been at Treasure Island Holiday Park for something like 10 days now. Wow. In that time, we have had a lovely clean camp kitchen, a lovely clean toilet block with wonderful showers, complete with steady water pressure. We have enjoyed the Kids Club, go karts, mini golf, and amazing swimming pool. We have also enjoyed steady access to a power supply which means air conditioning whenever we feel we need it. Two of us have slept in the tent every night, so we have all had ample sleeping room.

So we're driving away today, and I already miss the daily shower, flushing toilet, extra fridge space, and double sink for washing dishes. Goodbye, water slide. Goodbye family room with bathtub. And goodbye air conditioning.

A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking about what I miss and what I thought I would but don't. I think I need to remind myself of those things so it won't be so hard to leave.

Things I thought I would miss (but don't):

-- Multiple daily showers. Not easy to admit in this land of water restrictions, but I used to find it hard to regulate my body temperature without a shower. 40 degrees? Cold shower. 10 degrees? Hot shower. End of a long sweaty day, feeling grumpy and icky? Cold shower. Too long in the pool and feeling cold and chloriney? Hot shower. I have always been a showerer, but I have surprised myself on this trip with how dirty I have been able to tolerate being.

-- Sleeping alooooone. I love my sleep. After sharing my precious sleep with my three babies over the last few years, I quit in July and started sleeping alone. All alone. I was sure that I would find it very hard to once again share a bed, but it has been lovely. We move around, so sometimes I sleep with Nate, sometimes Maya, and most rarely Eli (because if I'm there he just wants to breastfeed all morning, but if he's with Nick he sleeps). I'm loving waking up to their sweet sleeping faces. Occasionally I get kicked in the back or rolled over on, and sometimes their restless sleep can render me sleepless, but the other night Nate exclaimed in his sleep a laughing "Wow!" and that kind of thing makes it all worth it.

-- Pristine cleanliness. I'm amazed how much dirtiness I can tolerate. Not washing the bedding as often as I would like, walking on a sandy floor and sleeping in a sandy bed - they aren't my favourite things in the world, but they are completely tolerable. Huh.

It's all a good reminder.