9 Ways You Know You've Just Returned From Roughing It At The Cottage--And No It's Not All About Webers On HWY 11

You've returned from the cottage--back to civilization. Here's how you can tell you've been roughing it for the past week or two:

1. You notice you have more scrapes, bites, and cuts than you've had the entire year: this may have seemed normal in the wild, but somehow they stand out as aberrant against your formal office attire.

2. You have an immediate craving for that special pizza or hamburger joint in your city or neighbourhood: Part of roughing it up north is missing those special take-out places from home. Weber's Hamburgers on Hwy 11 can only keep you going for so long.

3. You're sick of Webers Hamburgers on Hwy 11: You bought the burgers and fries, and have taken home the bucket of patties and buns--you've even dropped a hundred and fifty bucks on the Webers Roots attire! All this adds up to something you didn't think you'd hear yourself say: "I'm sick of Webers!"

4. You've lost weight: All that paddle-boating, windsurfing, fishing, swimming, chasing your kids around with water shoes and 40+ sunscreen--and absence of said favourite city fast food joints--has taken an inch or so away from your waste. You feel like a new person--but won't be long before you're back to normal.

5. You've gained weight: Between the BBQs and too many trips to Webers and your favourite ice-cream place in town--or the one adjacent to Webers--and all the sitting around the veranda or deck or patio, has left you a few pounds heavier. No problem: hit the bike, take the dog for an extra long walk, say good-bye to Webers till next year and you're golden!

6. You want to start building fires in your home fireplace: Yes, you miss the primordial act of making fire that you loved doing so much out in the wild, and find yourself gazing at your fireplace with wanting eyes. It's ok--in only a few months that won't seem like such a crazy thing to do.

7. You're roasting marshmallows over your stovetop: Can't get that craving out of your system for those caramelized marshmallows that only the fireplace can give. Maybe you're firing up your charcoal BBQ to get that woodsy taste. Follow your bliss!

8. It's taken several showers, brands of shampoo, and gobs of conditioner to get your hair back to normal: All that lake water, mosquito spray, and lack of adequate shower facilities have rendered you like a castaway on Survivor--and getting yourself back to 'normal' took longer and more than expected. But now you feel like a million bucks--though you realize you're going to miss that bees nest of hair you had, and your beard grown out like a cave man. Somehow you felt more human--but oh well, nothing that a trip to your favourite Tai restaurant can't cure...

9. You realized more about yourself: Being up north and roughing it made you realize things about yourself you hadn't before: you enjoy windsurfing, paddling on surf boards, catching bass out the side of a paddle boat, frying fish over a fire, chopping wood and carrying water and all that good stuff that makes us human. You realize that as much as you love 'civilization', there is a different side of you that comes alive when you're out there. It's a good thing: it makes us thankful for air conditioning and good take-out--not to mention hair conditioner--but also aware of what we are capable of if those luxuries were somehow taken away.