Clark is Home from the Mountains!

If you read my post yesterday, you are probably wondering how I managed to drag my old self across the room to get to my laptop.

It was hard. Trust me.

Clark got home last night from his Freshman orientation adventure. He had a BLAST! We listened as he talked and talked and talked about what all he saw and what he did and who all he met. He said they hiked and they climbed rocks and they rappelled down the side of a mountain. They jumped off a cliff into freezing cold river water, and they floated Class 3 and 4 rapids.

He said that, with God's help, he conquered two of his biggest fears this week: heights and snakes. He said he's still afraid of those two things, but he knows that, if he's faced with either of them, he'll be okay.

He said that he stayed in a 9 person tent with just 3 other guys...and that it felt like a hotel because they had so much room! Everyone else's tents were filled to capacity.

Earlier this week, when I went up to his room to put clean sheets on his bed, I noticed that he had not taken his sleeping bag. It brought back all kinds of memories from a missions trip he went on in middle school...when he forgot his sleeping bag. Fortunately, on that trip, they were staying inside, at a church or something, and they found towels for him to sleep on.

I was so concerned that he would forget something important like that on this trip, because it doesn't sound fun to be in a tent...in the mountains...for 6 days...sleeping on a dishtowel.

Just sayin'.

He claims he left his sleeping bag here on purpose.

We'll never know.

He took Faith-the-girlfriend's sleeping pad thing...and her camping pillow. He said it was "perfect" for sleeping and he wasn't uncomfortable at all.

Also, he said he wanted to "confess" that he hadn't showered for 6 days.

Let that sink in a minute.

But, he said, it was all good...because he "was in the river every day."

OHHHHHH...okay.

Not showering is something I would expect out of a middle school boy...not a college freshman, but whatever. He said that he thought he smelled "great," and the only issue he had was the black dirt under his toenails.

I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.

So, he spent a lonnnnnng time in the shower last night, and then he went to bed.

I walked into the laundry room first this morning, and was greeted with the smell of death. I realized it was the garbage bag full of Clark's wet and dirty clothes that was causing the smell. I put all of the clothes into the washer and washed them on HOT...with lots of detergent. I could still smell something. It was his towel.

I had to wash it twice.

When I told him about it, he said, "my towel shouldn't smell at all...I DIDN'T EVEN USE IT."

So, best I can tell...he had a great time, he conquered some of his greatest fears, AND, in the span of 6 days, he wore 3 pair of shorts, 2 pair of underwear...and never used a towel.

"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." Psalm 90:2