A few weekends ago, we took advantage of the heatwave to head north to one of the campgrounds in the Kern River region. The river flows from the high-elevation Sierra. Even though temperatures can peak in the 80s and 90s in September, the water can be crystal cold! (freezing). We all swam in the super cold river, including Mango, to cool down in the mid-afternoon.
I’m super grateful for our Moonsea camper van, which lets us keep camping when we can. Now that we no longer homeschool, we don't have the flexible schedule we used to enjoy. The kids are also much older, AND they have many “other” important activities to attend to rather than spending their weekend camping with their parents. So our frequent camping days are over for now, and I appreciate it even more when we get to squeeze one in.
When we started journeying with our beloved campervan, Moonsea, in 2022, I dedicated an MD Codex Notebook as our “van journal”. It was a casual beginning, like one of the many whimsical and spontaneous ideas I often start with. At first, the van had so many small and big issues to fix (like the gas stove not working at high elevation or a foldable table falling off the wall). I used the notebook to track what needed repair, along with detailed campsite information, in case we ever wanted to return to the same campground. I have also kept track of friends we shared our camping adventures with, as well as nature-immersive gatherings we attended over the years. The pages are not meant to be a complete record of our camping experience, but rather snippets. The notebook usually lives in the van, so I only flip through it when I’m camping. It's been a fun way to remind ourselves of some fond outdoor memories together as a family.
For this kind of longer-term journaling practice, I've noticed I can keep going when the pressure is low and the stakes are minimal. So I always recommend keeping the project as light-hearted as possible. If I miss an entry or two (or many more), it’s okay. Whatever breadcrumbs I can leave in the journal pages are good enough. Once I reach a critical mass of page counts, it gets easier to keep going because the inertia of those filled pages inspires me to write instead of me needing to find motivation within me. In this sense, it’s really similar to a 5-year journal. The first year is the most difficult to keep going!
When I returned from the recent camping trip, I decided to add an Alchemist Notebook Cover along with “Journey” embossing and a customized license plate to my van journal. Even though it's been four years since Moonsea joined our family, I still have so many pages left in this journal, so we’ll likely go for years in tandem. Maybe the notebook, along with my younger mom self, will see me through sending kids off to college and more. But I know my handwritten scribbles and pasted photos on these pages, as well as the blank pages reserved for even further future, will anchor me to stay present when those inevitable changes knock on my door.
