camping

We have a camper!  But lately I am worried.  Camping is challenging.  I am afraid if I go with my husband he will really figure out how slow I am.  It takes me hours to get the pain down in the morning.  When you are that close in a camper, he will see what I have been kinda hiding from him.

I don't want to give up on camping, but dang I am afraid he will think he is married to an 80 year old. 

My husband is a body builder. 240 pounds and in great shape.  yuk

I know I should not give up on camping, but it's not going to be a pretty picture.

Any suggestions  :( 

If anything, you shouldn't be hiding how you're feeling from him! If he doesn't know where your limitations are, he'll always expect too much from you.

My husband had to go on anxiety medication about 6 months ago. He tried to hide exactly how bad he was feeling from me for a long time but it eventually mounted and just became too much. It took me a while to drill into him that he needed to share with me when he was having an attack and to not feel as though he was weak, and that I wasn't going to think he was crazy. Not being as open with him would make me feel like a major hypocrite. I try not to weigh him down with it, and assure him there's nothing he can do but be supportive. (That's his one complaint.. "I wish there was something I could do for you")

I guess what I am getting at is, if he was feeling awful and over doing it trying to hide it from you, wouldn't you feel terrible when you found out? If he really doesn't know how hard mornings are for you, you need to tell him. You don't have the comforts of home when you are camping and that will give extra challenges, and trying to plow through will not improve things. Never mind the fact that if you are stressed out leading up to the camping, that's just going to make things worse. Being open with him now and getting it off your chest can only be helpful in that respect.

I was camping with my husband last weekend. I slept terribly one night and had panic attacks all afternoon the next day. It was awful, but I can't imagine trying to hide it (or at least make it look better than it was) from him. Just knowing that he was understanding of the whole thing was a big comfort.

Post Edited (Moonsinger) : 6/9/2011 10:54:45 AM (GMT-6)

Absolutely. I know how you feel. I don't feel that I look or act the way I used to, and I am too tired to do a lot of things that I used to do. Our sex lives have really taken a hit also because of the discomfort I experience and how tired I am, and I always worry that I'm not enough for him.

When Mike was sick he was so worried about how it would make me feel about him, and that extra worry was the last thing he needed when dealing with an anxiety problem.

You have enough things to worry about with the logistics of camping and your illness, worrying about hubby's reaction to camping with you isn't going to help! I do understand where you are coming from, completely. But if he loves you, he'll love you even when you're creaky and crabby in the camper :)

Marilyn,

I am happy that you got a new camper. Maybe it wont be as hard as you think. At least you aren't sleeping in a tent. And maybe it is time your husband knows how bad you are feeling. This could be a good and productive trip. So try not to project the negative. Think of the good things. Are you going by a lake? That would be fun. Aww heck, who am I trying to kid??? Camping can be hard. But try to keep a good attitude and maybe you will have more fun than anticipated. Let us know how it goes.

lol...

Hugs, Karen

That is a good way of thinking Marilyn. I am 52. So I know how you feel.

Hugs, Karen

Thank you Rose, your message made me want to go. lol
Same with my husband, he is up and out of the house early. I sure am glad we have the men we have. My husband was my frist boyfriend and have been together 34 years. I was 17 years old. I am now 51, but want to stay young and happy
Thank the Lord.

Sincerely,
Marilyn

Thanks for sharing. It encourages me. I easily give up on outings.

I am so happy that you had a good time. Thanks for sharing and thanks for thinking of us.

Hugs, Karen

I too tried to hide how bad I feel from my boyfriend. Even though he knew what I had, it's difficult to explain that sometimes I can do things, sometimes I can't. I shared the Spoon Theory with him, and he really related to it. Now he asks me if I have available "spoons" and reminds me not to spend them all. He's also much better at letting me know in advance if there are outings, so I can arrange my schedule so I'm not doing too much.

mrsbubulz, my kids wanted to do the same thing and I told them no way unless I had my own bed and space. I went and it was fine. I could run off if I got to feeling bad. Can you get your own space. 3 days is a long time
Marilyn

I know exactly what you mean. It's hard to fake after the first day. LOL I could do it if I had my own tent. Where are yall going, the heat is terrible

I love camping, but I hate that alot of times while camping I have to hang back and take it easy. We go every summer for a week to the Oregon or Washington coast with my father and his girlfriend and my two kids and I always bring my two shih tzus. Luckily I get to use an air mattress in my tent that I share with my daughter and my dogs, while my son gets to stay in the RV with my dad and his girlfriend. The only thing I hate is getting up in the middle of the night to take my dogs potty and use the restroom with my daughter, its always freezing, and cold doesn't mix well with my body, I'm always stiff.

The only bad part for me is coming home afterwards cause I'm always so tiered and sore, I always sleep for several days afterwards. Its sad that I have to take a vacation after taking a vacation. And we always come back with way more stuff then we left with, we seem to buy stuff everywhere we go. We don't just stay at the camp ground the whole time, we go into the towns, like seaside and visit the aquarium and little stores. One time we stopped at the Oregon zoo, that was fun.

It is exhausting for me physically and mentally, but my kids are young and I want them to have fun and get to do the things I never got to do. I never went camping when I was a kid cause my mother hates anything outdoors. So now that my parennts are divorced, my father does alot more things and he pays for it all, so I find a way to force myself to go. And my dad absoutly does not believe in fibro, so I can't complain...luckily its only once a year.