Question: camp or sing?

Hello blogosphere, we're back, back from Charles-towne and the beach nearby, back to real life, and for me, back to school. I'm taking a course on the History of the English Language, which, really, sounds like it should be booorrrrinngg, but in fact, I love it. It's intense, because it's a full year course packed into 6 weeks, I go 2 1/2 hours a day, everyday, and Bubba (as we affectionately call Jacob these days) is in daycare 4 days a week just for these 6 weeks, hopefully only 1/2 days a lot of that time. It's great for me, and I hope he keeps enjoying daycare and stays well, or it will all fall apart (our plan).

But this is not the subject of my post. While we were driving home we came up through West Virginia and I was reflecting on how I LOVE it there. For no particular reason, I just do. I've not spent much time there, but I always feel good when I'm there. And I was remembering how 3 years ago (how fast life goes by!) I had a set-in-stone plan to fly out to West Virginia and attend vocal week at the Augusta Heritage Centre (seen here www.augustaheritage.com), and spend what was likely to be the best week of my life, singing. Somehow with a dying mother-in-law, a dying grandmother-in-law and a shaken newlywed marriage because of all the death, I decided that was not the year to go. I honestly cannot remember now why I thought that, because anything I could have done to make me happy I really, really needed to be doing in those dark days. Anyways, I didn't go. Then the year after I had just miscarried and that was very much not a time when I could do anything other than be totally, totally crushed. Then last year, **joy** **joy** I had a new baby to care for, and **shock** **shock** I was totally exhausted and blown over by the experience. And somehow I've been thinking since then that since I have a baby I can't go to the workshop. Which is dumb. I can. I have a fabulous, helpful, handsome husband, who loves to take care of our baby, and who is pretty free in summers.

In fact, as we drove through the West Virginia hills and I lamented silently that I couldn't take the vocal workshop it hit me I can take it. And I'm telling you, I breathed in as if I was a new person. I really, really want to go. And I asked Martin if he'd be willing to come down with Bubba and take on the role of primary caregiver for a week, and just jam if there was a good chance and let me run around and sing all night. And you know what? HE said YES. He's amazing, I know. So I'm pretty sure they still have room. But.... (isn't there always a but if you look hard enough?)we happen to have been very lucky to book a campsite, at the BEST PLACE IN THE WORLD to canoe, Killarney Provincial Park http://friendsofkillarneypark.ca/photogallery, for the week before the workshop.

Now, there are two things I love in the world, other than my family, my friends and food: Singing, and Canoing. The question is how to pick between them? I shouldn't have to pick, but given that Augusta (the singing) and Killarney (the canoing) are each 8 hours in the opposite direction, I think I can't dislocate our family for so much time, in so many directions. Killarney has many draws for me, including that it's so difficult to get a campsite (in fact I'm tempted to tell you that Killarney is a big dump in the middle of nowhere, full of blackflies and swamps, just to keep you all away, because it is so overbooked - as some residents of Seattle did years ago in a book). Also, it's where I was when I miscarried 2 years ago, and I haven't been back since. It's a bitter pill to swallow, to have been in the most beautiful place in the world, and experience the worst pain in the world at the same time. I could have seen it like a gift from God, as a kind of solace, or I could have seen it as an insult and further devastation that such loss could happen there. As it happens, I haven't decided how I see it. But I felt like I was 'getting back on the horse' by going back there. So canceling the trip is not so simple either.

Well, if there is actually anyone reading this blog, let me know what you think. I'd appreciate your advice. And soon, I'll post pictures from the beach.