written by CrushJohny
original source of the story was Submitted by the author
CrushJohny again. Been thinking about which experience to write up next, I really have limited time between family and work at the moment, so I’ve just picked my earliest one that I can remember. There were a couple that all occurred at around this young age, but this was the defining one in my memory. The one that started it all!
A bit of background so that this story makes sense. Growing up, our family was quite religious, and as part of our church we would all meet together for a ‘big camp.’ You can look these up online to get a sense, but basically they would set up huge tents, then hundreds of old style church bench seats (pews) in rows and hold church services for a few days in a row.
Typically, there were 3 services a day: morning, afternoon and night. Breaks in between for meals, activities and to socialise. On this particular one, it was just my mum and my 2 older siblings as dad had to work. When in the service, parents usually lay out blankets or mats on the floor in their row for their young children to keep them occupied. Generally, if you are quiet and not disruptive you can do play or draw or sleep on the ground. As you get older its expected you sit up and listen however, I was about 7, so I was young enough to get a free pass. There’s two experiences here, but first let me talk about my mum to paint the picture.