This weekend, I got engaged, which is neither simple nor cheap, but well worth it! And, no. She will not be joining me in the tent anytime in the near future… contrary to the rumor going around that TentWife.net will be launching soon.

I will resume regular scheduled posting on Wednesday – with a post on the uniqueness of being different!

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background…
From January to June 2009 I made my permanent residence in tentlife. This adventure began because of a huge event that happened in my life, engagement. The details will be left out, sorry ladies, because of the harassment that I would get from all my boys. Anyway, when I starting thinking about my future life with my soon to be wife, I began to become very overwhelmed at the thought of the responsibility of being a husband/head of the household/leader. When I looked at my life the biggest thing that kept me from having time to pray, meditate, and just enjoy my surroundings were all the distractions I had in my life. From my friends, to the electronics, to the drama of life, there had to be a change, I needed something different. So today, as I sit here merely 5 days before my wedding, this is what I have learned:

preparation…
I got kicked out of my first home by campus police because living in the woods in Alabama is equivalent to murder.

re preparation…
I found a new spot and from there, began to set up my casa. My new location was in a bamboo grove, which I will get to later, so I starting by clearing out an area. After the area was clear I built a platform using pallets and plywood which kept my tent off the ground from the rain. In the tent was a twin size mattress, a rug, 2 LED lanterns, a chair, and a book shelf where I kept my clothes, my jet boil, and my books (all a must have). And from there I began to live.

contentment…
If I could describe my experience in tentlife it would definitely be: different (so different that it even overwhelmed my craziest expectations). Obviously going from a house with a TV, computer, electricity, running water, refrigeration to a giant ziplock baggie is very different, but that isn’t what made the experience so amazing, it was the people. If found that my different lifestyle not only allowed me to discover so many things about myself, life, and bamboo, but it also allowed me the blessing of time. In that time I discovered so many conversations that led to ideas, convictions, laughs, and much change. People flocked to the different lifestyle with questions, concerns, and just wanting to know why… Which allowed me an opportunity to shed some light to an overcomplicated world. I also realized how long a day truly is. With out wasting so much time being useless I suddenly had so much time to pray, read, seek, build things, capture moments, and invite people over for some fresh pressed coffee and good talks. Overall my experience can be summed up by the bamboo that became my neighbor. If you ever take time to watch bamboo grow, it is one of the most amazing things you will ever see. I would see 3-4 inches of growth over the span of one day. This growth became symbolic of my own life because when I finally stopped to watch things grow, I began to grow. When I looked for God, I saw him in everything. And when I decided to be different, I saw things in a different way a realized that I am here to love. And to know and live a life of love is the essence of simplicity.

Now as I am literally counting down the days to my marriage, and have upgraded my tent to a house, I cant wait to love and laugh and watch our lives grow.

things to know…
…Alabama is hot
…Ants suck
…Peanut butter and honey is glorious

Now, grow a beard, pick up a copy of Walden, and go live in the woods.