Every year, we go camping at Sebago Lake State Park in Maine (USA).
I have big pot that looked like this when it was new, except it was probably much cheaper and not so shiny. Now, it’s totally black and sooty on the outside. The pot sits on a grate over the fire. Every time I start a fire, I fill the pot about three quarters full of water and put it on the grate to heat the dishwater. It might also be used to cook corn on the cob or other real big food, in which case, it won’t be the dishwater.
This year, the pot leaked. It probably had a leak last year, but we didn’t notice it then.
Since we aren’t very far from WalMart (map), most people would just go buy a new pot and throw out the old one.
But that’s not what camping is about.
Camping is about living with limits for a few days or weeks. It’s about packing the stuff you need and leaving the other stuff behind. It’s about parking the truck or car and enjoying your family and the park.
So, I decided to just use the pot. The leak was just a pinhole. It leaked slowly enough that it was still usable as a water heater, and the fire burned off the drips. You could say it was a self-extinguishing fire, or an outdoor humidifier.
Mom visited. As she ate her breakfast of bacon, eggs, and potatoes, she declared that I was not well-prepared for camping. Then she drank her coffee.
My brother came by and scoffed at my pot.
So, a few days later, when I was driving past WalMart (see the link above), I checked to see if they had a pot. The pot looked like this, it was beautiful. It was about $50, which is about $29.47 more than I wanted to pay for a pot that would be blackened in a week. However, the Windham WalMart does sell fabulous pastries, specifically cherry turnovers, so we bought some of them instead. They were about $2.44.
At the end of the camping trip, I put the pot in the bag with the other fire blackened cookware. I’m going to use it until it won’t heat the water to wash the dishes.
It’s okay to have something that isn’t perfect. I’m not perfect either.