What's In It For Me

So, you've been dying to know about the igloo trip?

Building an igloo takes a lot of effort. Sam and I attempted to build our igloo. About an hour in three others, then two more, came over and lent a hand in getting our igloo completed. Then, we returned the favor. In our devotion time Sunday morning we talked about Psalm 46 and God being our refuge. For me, it was cool to see God's people provide a refuge for each other.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Building an igloo is a lot of work. It was about 5 hours of work for 11 people to build 5 igloos. We finished about 5:30. We were totally soaked with sweat.

The weather went from sunshine, to rain, to snow. Sam and I put on some dry clothes, and tacos for dinner, and turned in. This is where it gets fun.

I never felt quite warm. Thoughts of igloos sound a bit romantic and adventurous. A nice place to come in out of the cold. Well, you don't really get out of the cold. You are in an igloo. It's made out of snow.

As Sam fell asleep, I read a little for school, but wondered how much I was really comprehending. I turned the headlamps off, but immediately felt closed in. I turned the headlamps back on. I woke up at 9 PM. Sam did, too. I woke up at 11:15 PM. Sam did too.
Now, keep in mind that to conserve the heat in an igloo, you need to tunnel in to your igloo, and do it in a fashion where the floor of the igloo is higher than the ceiling of the tunnel.

Also keep in mind that I started getting sick before we left. Sleeping in an igloo is a very oppressive feeling. The air is heavy, and, with being sick, I felt like I was going to suffocate. You do put a couple of holes in the igloo for "fresh air," but it didn't help. So, it was just an awful feeling. Like, being locked in a freezer with a cow stepping on your chest. All the while wondering, when I begin to close my eyes, "is this sleepiness the same sleepiness that is the warning that you are about to die from hypothermia?" – You just start to fall asleep and won't wake up again, only to be thankful to wake up again 2 hours later to go through the whole routine over again.

I felt like I was literally going to die just from being sick and being cold. At 1 AM I woke up and that suffocating feeling began to turn into panic. The scenarios are running through my mind – "It's 1 AM, I am going to have to go wake up Bob, we are going to have to pack up everything, walk out of here – with Sam, and Bob will either drive me all the way home, or at least to a point where Jean and Alina can meet us. What will these people think of me? Worse, I don't want to spoil Sam's trip." Pray, pray, pray. Feel a little better. Drink water, apply lip balm to my sunburned lips. Fall asleep, while wondering if this is hypothermia again.

I woke up at 3:12 AM. Pray, drink water, apply lip balm to my sunburned lips. Sam wakes up at 3:57 AM and asks what time it is. I tell him, and he smiles because he is awake and it's the middle of the night. I asked if he was having fun. I was hoping he'd say he was cold and miserable and wanted to go home. But, instead, he said, "Yes! We are sleeping in an igloo!" Then he asked if I was having fun. I said, "Sam. If you are having fun, then I am having fun."

He falls back asleep, and I do. Wondering, again, if this time it really is hypothermia. I wake up again at 5:12 and pray, drink, apply lip balm, and fall asleep – again betting that this time it really is hypothermia.

At 7 am there is light outside. YES! We made it! Sam has to go to the bathroom painfully bad. And, we struggle to get his snow pants and coat on without him having a breakdown. We make it out of the tunnel, out of our camping area, and onto the main trail. After Sam goes to the bathroom (which, by the way, I am so proud that he learned how to poop in the snow while wearing 5 layers), we take a hike deeper into the mountains. It is a beautiful morning. I am sick as can be, but I experienced the joy of my son. With my son that I prayed for, who came into our lives just about 8 years ago.