Oh Bloody Hail

Is there a black cloud full of hail hovering over me?

Seems like it!

You might remember just over two years ago both of our cars, our roof, siding, and deck were all severely damaged by golf ball sized hail. Madison and I rode the storm out along Highway 14 praying that the windows of the Explorer wouldn't break. Mind you - we are STILL trying to finish the repairs to our deck after that storm.

It struck again.

This time, it was our camper, located on a permanent campsite at Cozy Corners Campground in Richmond MN. Luckily, we stayed home to stain the deck (see paragraph above!). The weather didn't cooperate and rain prevented that from happening. But it was a good thing we stayed home.

It was baseball to softball sized hail and straight line winds. The winds blew apart two large Rubbermaid sheds, tore the license plate off our camper (it was later found down the road..) and the hail destroyed our camper. It took out windows, roof vents, the air conditioning unit, the awning, and there are dents and holes in the roof. While we don't have the final numbers back from our insurance company, we are likely looking at a total loss.

Which leaves us at a crossroads. Do we:

1. cut our losses and just not have a camper/weekend getaway anymore (NOT my idea and certainly not what I want to do!)

2. Buy a new-used camper to replace what we had

3. Buy the likely-totaled camper back from the insurance company and only fix what we have to in order to keep enjoying the place until its time for a bigger/upgraded camper?

Tough decisions! None of the options are really any good. The first option is not really an option in my book. Sorry - we make too many memories there and I want that for my kids. (Plus, Madison has already cried about the camper and we promised it would be made right again!) The second option would be great if we could find something similar to what we have - but it is tough to find a 38 foot camper with a queen and a bunkhouse. They just don't make them that big anymore. The third option seems great but it could get expensive to fix the roof. We could be dealing with leaks for a long time and Mike is not a fix-it guy (although, he doesn't give himself enough credit!)

My choice, would be to rewind the clock to last Saturday morning and build a pole shed over the camper to protect it!

One can dream right?

Our camper is only a material object. It is wood and steel and can be replaced. I am ever thankful that we were not there. That we did not have to rush for safety or worse, ride out the storm huddled in a tiny camper bathroom while praying that the camper didn't blow away. God was watching out for us on Friday night when we decided to stay home to accomplish a few projects.

Despite how grateful I am, I am very bummed about the whole thing and that makes me feel guilty for a number of reasons:

1. My neighbor girl Hanna just had her entire leg amputated - now there is a kid that should have a bitch fest with God...but she hasn't.

2. My co-worker's husband just had surgery and found out he has to have more surgery. Yep - that guy has something to bitch about.

3. People all across the country don't have jobs and are losing their homes. Yea - they have something to bitch about too.

Here I sit whining about a camper - a camper that we have had for two weeks shy of one year. A camper where we have worked hard to make it our place to escape from the worries of the world, where we kick back, watch the kiddos play and shoot the breeze with all of our camper friends. It's a place where we have made a lot of memories and something we have grown to love. So - It isn't the wood and steel that I'm upset about, its what the wood and steel represent. It's the possibility that we won't get to make more memories there. Knowing that maybe we have the last photograph from that place with sticky roasted marshmallow grins. The possible loss of the stories told around a campfire, no doubt embellished a bit with the help of a few cold ones. The possible loss of the kids telling us their happiest memories of childhood were made right there on campsite #35 in a 38 foot Fleetwood Mallard.

Indeed. It is not the wood and steel. It's what it represents.