This year was different than last year in the tent. My pad has thinned out, and the ground wasn’t as forgiving. It rained a lot the first couple weeks, which was fun because it doesn’t rain much in Arizona. But that excess water gave life to an abnormal number of plants. Those plants dumped more pollen in the air than my allergies could handle. I had no filtered central heating system to ease my pain. I sneezed my way through miles of toilet paper. My eyes were itchy and watery every morning and through most of the day. But sacrifice is what Lent is all about. If I was comfortable outside, then it would’ve been a waste of my time.

Next year, I might take my tent with me when I travel on weekends. I’ve opted not to do this because I like to be an efficient traveler with the minimal baggage. Since I travel up north quite a bit, this will mean I have to pack a thick sleeping bag and some warm pajamas. But it could be adventurous to wake up under a blanket of snow.

I really enjoyed the change of scenery this year, but that’s about all I can extract for the experiment at this point in my life. I have so much work to do that I can’t even think straight. If nothing, sleeping in the tent simplified my life so that I could deal with all this stress.