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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Life on the Lake. . .


I arrived in Wisconsin nearly a week ago and have passed everyday since Up North at the cottage.  As a child, I loved coming here to spend weekends on the water with the cousins I adored.  As I teenager, I dreaded summer days trapped with my family and away from friends.  As a 20-something adult living a plane ride away, I am acutely aware that more than a place, Up North exists as a state of mind – this is one of those expressions that everyone repeats and nods with knowingly, likely because it is true.  I don’t simply miss this place; I miss the feeling of being here and the fun that it holds.  It is separate from the rest of my world, and not simply due to distance, and has been a constant across my life, from childhood to present.

On Sunday, as the holiday weekend closed, I remained near the beginning of my 11-day-Wisconsin-vacation.  I have read every morning, kayaked in the afternoons, enjoyed (often too many) old fasioneds and Wisconsin microbrews in the evenings with my parents.  Trips into town for coffee, a bit of writing, evening boatrides, and a few attempts at landscaping have filled my days.

In my acute awareness of the Up North mentality as a "sort-of, kind-of grown-up," I remember to slow and even stop, to fill my time with enjoyment and activities that leave me happy.  Don’t rush.  Breathe deep.  Enjoy swims in the cool and clear water (that my mom assures me is refreshing, but which I still sometimes think is just simply chilly).  Enjoy projects with my parents.  Laugh with my brother (and push him from the dock into the water below at every opportunity available).  Read.  Wakeboard.  Kayak.  Swim.  Run.  Write.

My morning coffee and a bit of reading...I could get used to this...
The coming days hold a trip to Madison, dinner with friends at home, and a wedding before returning to DC.  Here’s to hoping that I can maintain even just a vague sense of this Up North existence until I am back here again…

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