My husband and I LOVE camping. When we were younger, our family tent camped and held the ideal that camping in a tent was the only real way to camp. Later we bought a small camper that could be pulled by our van and we thought whoa, this is amazing, what had we been thinking for the last 20 years! A few years ago, we upgraded to a slightly larger camper (think one that has a toilet AND a separate shower - Woohoo!) One that required us to purchase a truck to pull it. This was all that we shunned in our early life together. A time when we had better backs, daily showers were not always necessary, and we could go for longer than 15 minutes before we had to use a restroom!
As our children have now ventured out on their own, my husband, I, and our cat, head out into the wild every chance that we get. I LOVE being in nature, and having this camper allows us to spend time outside, touring our amazing country, one stop at a time, while still being able to work and meet the needs of our family, and our volunteer commitments. Thank you, God, for hot spots!! (As I am writing this blog, I am sitting out in a beautiful state park near Denver Colorado!)
Through the years of camping (over 40 of them) we had to think and re-think, design and re-design how we camped. We needed to figure out why we camped and what we want to achieve with camping. We defined the values to direct the vision of what we want to achieve in our camping experiences.
We have specific insights, through our own research and experiences, in addition to those insights shared by friends and other campers that we have met along the way. Insights from friends: What are you doing? Why? A truck, what about our environment? Insights from other campers: Where are you from? Why would you live near Chicago? Do you know that there is a better way to do that?
Our vision is to see the USA (not in a Chevrolet, we have a Ford - They are not a sponsor). We are acting on this dream each time we hook the camper up and take another trip with our sidekick Claudia (the cat) riding shotgun. We built a foundation using our values, vision, and insights. We are learning a lot, and making decisions based on our foundation and on time, family needs, and money. We are moving forward toward our dream.
In a few weeks Henrieta and I will be leading a Let’s Talk Teams! workshop hosted by Advocate Aurora Health. This is a free three session event, with conversations around what makes a team great and steps everyone can take to get there. These steps are the same ones that Henrieta and I use with our families and our business. They are the steps that I have shared here; lay a foundation based on why, values, and insights. Create a vision and action plan, then go forth and reap the blessings, and rewards (of course it also takes some work).
If you volunteer on a team, are a part of a team at your work, lead a team and/or want to start a team. Henrieta and I personally invite you to be a part of this event. Our vision is to provide a space where we can learn from each other, support each other and, after the three sessions, make a difference in the teams that we are on and the lives that they touch. Won’t you join us? To sign up visit us at ie3.life and click on “Join Us”
Reflections:
· What, if any, is your experience with camping? Was it good or bad?
· Where is your favorite place to spend down time? What do you like to do there?
· What are the steps that you take when planning a project?
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