It's too stinkin hot.

Yesterday Katee and I went to a gathering in Binghamton. I was excited about it all week because we haven't made it out there to get any boxes (and there are TONS) yet apprehensive because the forecast called for 95 degree temps. I don't have the best track record with hot weather and doing anything physical (in high school I had 2 particularly embarrassing episodes. One was after I sang in Disney World. I was fine for the half hour I was on stage but as soon as I got off stage and sat down, I launched into a massive asthma attack. I can tell you that their medical team is really great although there are no Mickey's on the ambulance :( I had a similar attack a year later after marching in a parade in July. I was a drum major and had to lead the whole drum and bugle corps and was again fine during the parade but had an asthma attack as soon as I sat down afterwards. The list goes on and on but those two stick in my mind). None of them have ended in anything less than a trip in an ambulance and I really wanted to avoid this at all costs.

Anyway, I was excited yet nervous and rightfully so, it seems. We got there and the people running the gathering we SO nice! Somehow they knew who I was before I even said my name! We made name tags, dropped off our massive fruit salads and then set out to find a place to hide my stamps. I took a set of Mario 3 stamps I had carved for an LTC and loved too much to let them sit in a box at home (I ended up hiding them in a fridge since I felt it was appropriate for the weather). Then I wanted to get on the trail and get some boxes. I was all ready to go and had water and even a tank top on (something I NEVER wear in public but I wanted boxes!) and we set out. I am not kidding when I say we got 2 boxes and were on our way to the third when I just knew I wasn't going to make it. I was getting dizzy and lightheaded and my breathing was really shallow and I begged Katee to turn around. I didn't want to but I knew I had to or else a whole bunch of people I barely knew were going to see me loaded into an ambulance in the middle of nowhere. On the way back to the lodge I had to stop and try to breathe. Katee was telling me a story the whole time and I'm sorry to say I have no idea what she was talking about because I couldn't focus at all. We got back to the lodge and I put cold water on my face and sat on the floor of the bathroom for a while before I was able to get it together. It also didn't help that I hadn't had any dinner the night before or breakfast that day so Katee brought me some fruit and I started to feel better. I am happy to say I avoided a scene, albeit narrowly, and sad to say I spend the entire gathering in the lodge with all those wonderful boxes outside just taunting me. Boo :(

We had fun inside, though. We got to exchange and talk with a lot of people who we hadn't previously met and because there were a lot of diehard people out on the trail, it was at a slower pace than normal. We also became babysitters of sorts when we had several children attach to us but both Katee and I love kids so it was fine. I got to talk extensively with Red Barn Photos which was great because I've only met her at one other gathering and I feel like we've been friends forever. I think that that really has become my favorite part of letterboxing, the built in friends that you never knew you had.

We were able to get a few boxes on our way out that were close but sadly we did not come home with the same impressive count as we did after the Rochester gathering. It was fine though, I honestly don't think finding boxes is more important than my health. I KNOW we'll be back out there this summer sometime so we can get more then. We thought about going to the dinner afterward that everyone was meeting at but I felt wretched and we came home instead. I know I wasn't feeling well when I slept until 11am this morning! This is absolutely unheard of from me because I am up at 6am every day whether I want to be or not.

All in all it was a fun gathering and we got to talk with lots of great people. I'm now trying to come up with the energy to leave my air conditioned bedroom and go out to the living room to work on some LTC's. I had a bit of a panic attack yesterday when I realized I have 3 cards due at the beginning of July. I honestly don't know what I was thinking signing up for them all. It takes me a while to figure out what I want to do and then implement it because I am such a perfectionist. Brent says it's like I have letterboxing homework. It's a little frustrating because there's so many stamps I want to carve to plant and I feel like I need to get my LTC's done first. This will be a lesson to me in the future though: LTC's are for fall and winter, not spring and summer.