What our vacation taught me...

For the past ten days, my family (my husband and I, our two children, my mother-in-law, and my father-in-law) have been vacationing in my in-laws' camp in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. Our family is very fortunate to have this camp as a vacation destination, and my husband and I feel quite blessed that his parents are so willing to share it with us.

The camp itself, is a quaint little building made up of an open living/dining/kitchen area, and has three small bedrooms. Due to the fact that the camp is so small, it's sparsely furnished, housing just the bare necessities.

The picture above is taken from one corner of the camp, showing the living/dining area, and the tiny kitchen.

This photo is taken from one corner of the bedroom that my husband and I share with our two year old son.

So, what was it that I learned from this vacation? Despite having vacationed here countless times in the past, the reality of the situation never really hit me until this past week. There we were six people (four adults and two children), living in this tiny little house, without many of the luxuries that we take for granted at home. No washing machine, no dryer, no air conditioning. My children have a small box of toys at camp, compared to the rooms filled with toys that they have at home. Yet, even without all of those luxuries we function, we live, and best of all... we have a great time. It made me realize how unnecessary so many of the things in our lives really are.

While we were there, my five year old daughter lost her first tooth! A momentous occasion in her life, and one that will be even more memorable to her because we were at camp, and entirely focused on each other. It didn't take fancy toys, or electronic gadgets, to bring about the complete joy on her face when that tooth came out! The tooth fairy didn't care that she was sleeping in a tiny bedroom, she still came to whisk away that first tooth!

Our two year old son, made great strides in potty training while we were there. A feat that had seemed so unobtainable the week before we left for our vacation. The pride he took in using the potty like a big boy, and watching my baby grow into a young man in the course of that week was worth more to me than any gizmo or gadget.

I felt instantly enlightened by the realization that it really is the simple things in life that make it worth living. Watching my children grow, celebrating their milestones, and being together as a family for all of it. It made me realize that even though I've been making these steps towards minimizing the unnecessary from our lives, I still have a long way to go. We don't need "stuff", we have a beautiful family that is far more important than anything else in this world. My children are my everything, and I want them to fully feel that.

After spending the past few days pondering all of this, thinking about the simple pleasures, and all of the fun and exciting things that transpired in that tiny house in the middle of nowhere, I'm even more encouraged to purge the unneeded from our home, and from our life. Simplify what we have, and keep only that which is really important.