Wednesday 2 August 2017

Lot 18 with the Lighthouse

My cabin is magic. I have been coming out here every summer ( & spring & fall) since 1998, and it holds so many memories for me that I can’t even begin to list them. I grew up here; I have numerous scars from my clumsy adventurous youth, and I lived out most of my teenage rebellion there - which lets face it, with the exception of getting lost in the woods, it's safer to do it here than in town; not that that made my parents any happier about it at the time.  It is always the one spot on earth where peace just follows me. We have running water and limited electricity so it’s not totally of the grid, but cell service is scarce and TV is replaced by card games, Yahtzee, and reading. When was the last time you read a book in a day?! I don’t remember myself, until last weekend. It’s close enough to civilization that you don’t feel completely off the grid, but far enough into the woods to breath fresh air and to enjoy just the noise of.. noisey nothingness.


I say it every time I come out, this place is magical. Whether its Jake & I who've managed to sneak off for a weekend, or with my parents, or for our Mother Daughter getaway. My mom and I have done an annual girl’s trip out to my cabin for the past 6-7 years, give or take. Every time, it is the most relaxing, refreshing and recharging weekend of my summer. My mom and I are two peas in a pod, she is absolutely one of my best friends, and while we never (EVER) run out of things to talk about, we’re just comfortable to hang out in silence, her knitting and me reading. I cherish these weekends with all my heart. We packed up and headed out Thursday evening last week, truck packed full with drinks, healthy food our men would not willingly eat, lots of sunscreen and bathing suits – and of course our other favorite girl, Molly. 
sporting her "summer" look. between you & I, I prefer her e-wok fluffball style better, but I always make sure to tell her she's perfect anyway. 
Between wedding planning, maintaining an entire house/yard mostly solo due to Jake’s long work hours, increasing work stress and some other little stresses that have been piling on, this weekend could not have come at a better time to just chiiiiill out and for a blissful 72ish hours, forget that I had any responsibilities waiting for me. The idea that my only chore this weekend was to work on my tan made me literally giddy. And let’s be honest, it’s always nice to be missed – cue the “I can’t sleep without you here, when are you coming home again?” texts from Jake that were just the icing on the cake.
The type of meal that makes me eat without stopping to breathe, and Jake would consider pure torture. 


The first morning we set out for a hike, which turned into laps around the village due to some cougar sightings, and while Molly is adorable and thinks she’s ferocious, she’s basically cougar hors douerves. Realizing I had forgotten any sort of magazines, cross stitching projects or anything to keep me off my phone, we popped into the Queest Library, a shanty little well-kept up shack I hadn’t gone into since I was probably 10 when we would spend weeks at a time out here with my mom while my dad worked, and she would take my brother & I there every few days to return what we had read and pick up some new goodies. I browsed through the Romantic novels, the sci-fi horrors, and decided on a classic, John Grisham’s The Pelican Brief. If you haven’t before, you must read it; I devoured it and am now anxiously trying to find the movie adaptation, missing the days of movie rentals!

The remaining days were spent paddle boarding up and down our end of the lake, admiring the familiar views from a different vantage point, my mom pushing food on me as if I was somehow starving, lots of laughs, lots of future talk, and lots of sleep. We’re both girls who love our sleep, so both of us going to bed at 9 was no big deal, and so lovely. One thing you can guarantee at the cabin: you’re going to sleep like a log. I slept until 7:30-8 every morning without even trying. God I love my sleep.


Not a stitch of makeup was worn all weekend & my hair had gotten to the point of playing the "is it greasy or is it wet" game - which is why we didn't take any actual pictures of us, and by the last day we both determined that we were sufficiently stinky and greasy and our guys would be horrified if we returned like that, so lake baths it was. Have you ever had a lake bath? There is nothing, nothing, like it. I dare you to challenge me on that one, or find anything more refreshing. 

It’s coming on 20 years now and it’s slowly becoming more of burden to keep up for my parents than it used to be, and the talk of selling it has been high up there for a few years now. I wish I had the opportunity to buy it from them, so that Jake & I can eventually raise our kids with the same amazing memories and amazing experiences that I got to enjoy. It breaks my heart to think one day soon it will be a reality that it won’t be ours anymore, so I make sure to soak up every little bit of feeling and emotion I experience while I’m out there, every smell, every sound and every view. Along with the heartbreak and sadness, I am so excited for the future new family to experience all of the magic for themselves for the first time too. Dear future Lot 18 residents: promise me, you'll keep the magic alive. 



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