Defining Moment #11

Happy

“I’m soooooo happy,” I said at two, running with my arms outstretched right into my mother’s nose, which I broke. I was not happy very much after that moment. Happy is not a word that defines me.

I have had happy moments, though, and most of them were, well, camping—or at least hiking and communing with nature. There was the time in Utah that we camped in the back country and took our pictures in goofy hats, the trip my now-husband and I took across the country in my Ford Escort wagon with no air conditioning, trips to Great Falls, a luxurious two weeks in Ireland where we climbed around abandoned castles and photographed interesting doors.

I have changed now. But knowing I’ve had some truly happy moments has helped keep my definition of myself in perspective. Once again, in the future, I may be a happy camper.