This weekend, I conquered, hiyah!

[EffieCollins]

Shield your eyes from my brilliant light, people. Effie's got a big ego.

Okay, so... some of you may know that I am desperately afraid of the dark. I also cannot stand to go outside after sunset, or have open curtains and etc.

When Jay came in this weekend, it was also a payday weekend, which meant we would have a family outing. He's paid bi-weekly and on "off" weekends, he and I hang out with friends or stay home and have "date nights" in the living room... dinner and a movie and necking on the couch. This weekend was family weekend. My kids asked if we could go to the falls and swim a while. I packed some sandwich stuff into my basket, said we'd just make it a day-long thing. Jay's brothers showed up as we were leaving, so we invited them along. It never hurts to have the army trained medic with you when you're hiking 2 miles through the woods to the waterfalls. Plus, it was cool to have a little impromptu get together. So anyhow, we went. I had a thousand little heart attacks as my older two jumped off the falls into the water below with their uncles and my husband, but we were having fun. One of Allen's (my brother in law) army buddies showed up at the same spot with his two kids, who were the same age as my kids. That made all their day, cause none of them thought there'd be anyone their age.

It started to get toward dinner time and we were all getting ready to leave when someone suggested we all just pick up some hot dog stuff and go camping.

Oh boy. Effie does a lot of things, but she does not do outside in the dark with the bugs and the worm and all that stuff. Oh no. I died a little right then and there, I swear. I've never been camping in my life. Ever. I have always refused to go and under no circumstance would I have even considered it. Till I had kids old enough to want to go camping, that is.

Anyhow, everyone was wild to go... the hubs and kids included. Everybody's looking at me and I'm stuck. WTF.

Somehow, they talked me into going.

Guys, I had so much fun. We sat up late on the riverside and had a few beers, shot the shit and just chilled. It was uber cool. And I didn't freak out not one time... well, yeah one time but dammit that bush WAS moving and I don't care what they said wasn't over there (I made them go check) it frigging moved. Anyhow, I was OUTSIDE. In the DARK. All night. Next to the frigging New River (this mother humper is one dangerous river, btw). I'm 27 years old and never thought I'd see the day when I went camping. But guess what? We all made plans to do it again in two weeks... for the entire weekend. Thursday evening through Sunday evening. I'm pretty stoked.

Sorry. Had to share. I think it's pretty friggin cool, to be honest.

[Tall Tyrion]

I was going to try to crack SOME kind of joke... but I don't feel like it.

You rock... you really do. It's never easy to face your fears, and as someone who has woken up in the middle of the night with only a thin layer of nylon between myself and nature in all of it's terrifying beauty, I can relate... a little...

Good for you.

[DgB]

Awesome. Now, go and dig up some nightcrawlers.

[DgB]

The New River is great, by the way. I was born in Beckley.

[EffieCollins]

@TT: Well thanks. I've come across enough of nature in full on daylight to be leery of the outdoors at night around here. WV ain't no jokes, you know. It really is wild country in a lot of spots.

But I so owned that shit. I had a blast, I tell ya. It was great.

DgB: No shit. Really? Ha! I'm in the Bluefield/Princeton area (not in Bluefield or Princeton, but there's not actually a name for where I live, so I gotta give you the closest cities heh. Know where Dot is? Heh. Yeah. I don't even live in a place so grand as Dot or War. I love WV.). Lived here all my life, actually.

We did find some nightcrawlers. The kids did a little fishing... caught a bunch of water weeds and stray sticks LOL. They had fun with it though.

[DgB]

Yep. Truly. I split my childhood between WV and TN. We just moved away from Beckley(again)about a year ago. And, I do know where Dot is. Don't eat the water weeds, but the stray sticks should be fine if you cook them right.

[Argentus]

Good for you, Effie. As TT said, no matter how supposedly "irrational" our fears may be, they are not easy to overcome, but you did so marvelously. *Arge high-fives Effie*

And just think of all the new material now at your disposal for future stories! Create something for that moving bush and get it down on paper!

[shadowflame1974]

Big hugs Effie!

Fears are irrational sometimes, but they can be faced. Glad you had an awesome time.

[Mercedes]

ROCK ON, EFFIE!!! That is so very cool!

[dgrintalis]

Effie, congratulations on surviving your expedition and for having fun!

I went camping. Once. There were spiders. 'Nuff said.

[Balor]

Way to go, Ef! Now, if only I could follow your lead and somehow overcome my paralyzing fear of spiders...

Any advice?

[Mercedes]

Now should I be nice and protect our dear Balor from spiders, or torment him the entire time that he's in Vegas? Oh, Conscience of Mine, tell me what to do!

[JaymGates]

Mercedes, I'm disappointed that you have to ask. Protect Balor...this time. Make sure he knows you put your life on the line. Have friends torment him instead. Benefits? All the fun, PLUS he'll owe you!

Effie, that is amazing. Very, very brave of you.

[Mercedes]

Jaym, you are a savvy woman.

[EffieCollins]

I had a really great time. What made it so great was that I expected it not to be, you know?

Merc, spiders are awesome. My hubs is terrified of them though, and people who are can be quite violent when it comes to spiders.

I suggest torturing Balor.

Balor, best way to get over being afraid of spiders is to buy a tarantula and play with it. Let it crawl all over you. If you can handle a tarantula being on you, you won't even think of little spiders. It's how I got over it, although spiders never really scared me like being in the dark does. Oddly, the camping trip hasn't erased that fear. I still can't sleep at home with the lights off.

[Balor]

Oh, Sadie, I'll let you torture me as much as you want. I owe you big time anyway. Jaym, you are very savvy.

And Eff, the funny thing is, I have no problem with the big bugs. I've played with tarantulas before and not had a problem. It's the little ones that get me...

[Mercedes]

Hmm. You sound fun.

[Kerr]

We camped all through my childhood Eff, so I never realized there were things to be afraid of. It always seems so much safer to be together than alone in my bedroom with the shadows and the closet. LOL But good on ya girl! And I agree, now go dig up some worms and take that boy a yours fishin'. We miss too much fun being afraid.

[Mercedes]

I grew up camping, and it's one of my favorite memories. Lots of Bonnie Tyler and Meatloaf being played on the ole cassette player!

[Shiney]

Love the LOAF not the camping....

[Kenwood]

Camping is a blast, but I find myself getting a bit creeped out sometimes, too.

[EffieCollins]

Oh yeah. I relished it, though. It's a bit easier to tell yourself you're okay when there's ten other people around you LOL.

[Tall Tyrion]

If it helps, you could always watch The Blair Witch Project right before going out. See, I'm a helper!

[Kerr]

And you've had ten beers in you and the fire's roaring. I have a feeling you're going to be the hit this next one, Ef. Have a story ready for them. Hehe.

[EffieCollins]

Haha! I'll do that Kerr.

TT, I loved the BWP. It wasn't scary though.

[Sponsored content]