About 20 to 25 years ago (!?) I used to camp and hike a lot. And I mean, a lot! I had a MEC backpack that I dragged to all corners of Algonquin, Alberta, various places in Québec and probably twice that in Ontario. Over the last few decades as "life" has happened, that backpack was stored in a closet somewhere, and I'm certain I haven't thought about it even once in the last 5 years, maybe more.

But I enrolled Jolie in Girl Guides earlier this month to coincide with the start of the school year, and this weekend she had her first camp outting. So I dug out my old MEC 3-season sleeping bag, and we found the old backpack, and I helped her pack it, adjust the straps, etc. It was strange seeing my old patches on the top pouch of the bag -- PADI, Canadian Ski Patrol, Nova Scotia, Québec, Bishops, Algonquin. I know I have many more patches somewhere I never got around to sewing on, even as far as Japan and Netherlends.

One thing for certain: it certainly made me smile to see my old backpack in use again after so many years of neglect. Things have come around full-circle. As my kids are growing up, I can see bits of myself in them. It is funny, in a way that I'm certain only parents can appreciate.