Hej! from the Tetons,

WiFi is very spotty in these mountains, which, believe me has been great. The WiFi spot is near the general store, and it can get crowded here while everyone checks in with their respected worlds they “left” behind for this moment in time. But a world without distractions can leave room for….many thoughts, scenarios, pondering, musings and the such.

This years residence in the Tetons has been wonderful-but man oh man the mosquitoes have been a beast. Forget about the black or grizzly bear, it’s the damn bugs that have made us insane. Which has led me to today’s ramble. I always praised myself as a healthy Momma to Henna. I always chose organic foods, went the less toxic route with cleaning products trying to limit her exposure at an early age (the time I had some control of what entered her body). Among the list of items I banned were suntan lotions with chemicals (which left us looking like we had white war paint on) and bug spray containing Deet. As regular campers you may wonder how I accomplished this feat? Well, I’ve tried various oils, wrist bans, long shirts, smoke from the camp fire and cursing. Luckily, we haven’t had too much trouble throughout the years-but when we have it’s been rough. And to top it all off, these pests love Henna. LOVE her. And she doesn’t just get bit. She reacts with massive swells. One year she woke up with a huge swollen eye, like she had been part of a bar fight the night before. We happened to be in Canada at the time and had to tell her to not joke about getting a beating while going through border crossing. Anyway, I digress. Back to the present. Henna was having a horrible time here. Her mood was rough. She was sullen and one night said she wanted to just go to bed so she wouldn’t have to be awake any longer (fighting bugs). Ugh. That was the worst. So the next day, I urged her and Noel to buy bug spray. I have often done that over the last few years, urged them to buy it. Use the stuff….my reign of control was over. But they never would. But last night they finally did. They sprayed themselves and their clothes. They walked around in a Deet mist……and guess what? My Happy Henna emerged. She was amazed how the bugs flew away from her. Oh the power she now had. She was elated. But she would comment every now and then about how she felt guilt using it, or it made her feel like she’d done something wrong. Holy crap. I hoNestly had unknowingly brain washed her. Our kids are always listening, watching and taking in our every move and belief. It’s a crazy power we have. I’ve always wanted her to have her own ideas and beliefs on everything, but we’ve shaped her for Better or worse. Of course she’ll go into the world with this first foundation and build upon it. I know that. But as she turns 16 I wonder and to be honest worry what other “ideas” I’ve inadvertently instilled in her. Hmm. Things you don’t ponder while at home with Netflix to sidetrack you. Oh well. My favorite saying is “you can’t go back, only forward”. So, I’m moving forward…..especially as both Noel and Henna are awaiting me to take a hike.

Corey

carpenter ants at work. We’ve been watching this over the last few days with wonder. Not missing Netflix at all……well maybe Fleabag just a little.