My happy place

Our hill country trip was born out of an errand we needed to run in Ingram. Miller's parents had given him a hand-engraved belt buckle from a master silversmith as a gift for passing the bar last year, and we were to go to his shop in Ingram to choose one.

Well, it just so happens that Ingram is about 10 minutes away from Camp Mystic, where I spent 13 summers of my life. It's idyllically situated among cypress trees in a valley on the Guadalupe River, minutes outside of Hunt in (what I think is) the very prettiest part of the Hill Country. It's a special place in that intangible way, something that I can't really pinpoint except to say that I always left camp renewed, and in a much better place than when I arrived in July. There were years that I really, really needed camp, even in my early 20s - maybe moreso in my early 20s. I also know that I bawled all the way home each August, devastated to leave my friends. Those same friends who, years later, were at (and in) my wedding, my baby shower - they are the lifelong kind you treasure. It remains such a big part of me, and I am so happy that I will be able to share that with my daughter.


Coming back to Mystic always feels like visiting an old friend - it's so familiar and unchanging. It's my happy place.


Of course, my summers at Mystic have long been over, but they always welcome you with open arms any time you'd like to stop by for a visit.


These little ladies seemed to get it. They bounded all over the grounds and are ready to be signed up for next summer.


We were patting ourselves on the back, watching them here. Yes siree, we thought we had some pre-tty well-trained little dogs, who gingerly sidled up to the river for a drink without jumping in. We told them not to and they listened! Well done, us! What obedient, well-behaved children we will have! We are on the road to successful parenthood!


Ah. How foolish we are. They were just looking for that extra special part of the river that no one swims in because it's 100% murky, gooshy Guad Grunge. Perfect if you're just about to get back in the car.


Maybe it's just our imaginations, or wishful thinking, but something between these two changed this weekend; they seemed to morph from merely tolerating one another's existence to becoming more of a little team. We aren't sure what happened, but we hope they keep it up and use their combined powers for good and not evil.