The water on the lake is still. The leaves begin to waken, fluttering good morning. The sun shines through the trees making the green look yellow. It’s quiet.
So many memories of this place are from when I was a child. I was the one sleeping in, waking up hours after the sun peeked hello. Giving my parents time to sip their coffee on the porch in peace. Now I am the one embracing the quiet of a new day with my coffee and a pen.
My kids are the ones stomping down the stairs with bedhead and sleepy grins. They spend the long days in their swimsuits, afternoons eating popsicles, looking for bugs, and slamming the same screen door I slammed a hundred times a day when I was 5. The loud thud of that old wood screen door is a comfortable and familiar sound of life at the cottage.
The days are so much the same as they were then. My kids are now the ones playing with reckless abandon while I try not to worry and just let them be. I still put on my swimsuit and dive in to splash and play. I will know I’ve started to take myself too seriously when I won’t get my hair wet.
The afternoons slide by, sometimes with naps on the porch other times with paint and swimming, reading books or hiking in the woods. Sometimes we even watch tv. Whatever it is, it’s always good because it’s here. The days are long, the moments fleeting. I’m here with my parents just as I was 28 years ago. They watched me and my brother jump off the same dock all day long. Now they watch me with my own kids. Making the same memories. Savoring the same slice of serenity. So much the same in this place where little ever changes.
I embrace change – the visible progress that remodeling brings. The excitement of a move, a new house, changes in me. But sometimes, at a place like this I am reminded how gorgeous sameness can be.
Added to Tuesdays Unwrapped at Chatting at the Sky
Yes, sometimes sameness is wonderful. After all, that’s where our comfort comes from!
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You’ve been on my mind a lot this past week, so it felt oddly comforting to hear from you. This post literally gave me chills — it was so well written. Enjoy your summer.
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Living life on the wild side when one gets their hair wet. Here’s to some things staying the same.
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Hi Em, I’m always a wee bit envious that your parents still have the same lake house you enjoyed as a kid, staying the same must be VERY comforting! We’ve had a lot of changes in our life with different homes and while they were all fun and exciting and still full of memories, I would love to know what it feels like to have “the same” house from “back in the day”…you are blessed to know how wonderful that sweet sameness is!
Enjoy your time there!
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Awesome!
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Sounds like a beautiful sameness. Enjoy!
-FringeGirl
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This is a very good post for me. I think you should add more video and pictures because it helps visitors
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oh, oh. I so hope you are able to link this up with Tuesdays Unwrapped. it’s perfect.
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With your words you have taken me back to my childhood and teen years. Our place at the lake was our haven. Sadly, after living there when we were first married, my husband and I didn’t go back to enjoy it like we should. My parents ended up selling the lease. You should see the mansion that sits on that perfect lake lot now. I still see the tiny trailer with screened porch that was birth place to learning to ski, drive a boat, and enjoy the water. The sad part is my children have never water skied.
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You took me back to my summers growing up, too! Funny that no matter how many things change, there are still that many things that stay the same. And, how cool is it that kids are still kids: no matter how far we’ve come with technology, there’s still nothing like splashing in the water!
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Oh, you are right…sometimes the sameness is so good. I feel that way when I return to my childhood home. Beautiful post, Emily!!
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I love this, especially the part about everything being good because it’s there. We have a place like this, too: my grandmother’s beach house. I cherish bringing my kids there because of all my memories growing up, and my parents’ memories, etc. Found you via Tuesdays Unwrapped!
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beautiful.
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gorgeous. my husband’s family grew up going to a cottage on a lake, and this summer we’ll take our two babes. i’m so excited!
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i love that you’re making memories with your kids that your folks made with you. following in your footsteps, that’s what your kids are doing. so cool.
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reading this put me instantly at ease. i love slamming screen doors.. i really do! in a world where there is constant movement and change, this sounds like heaven.
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Oh, I loved everything about this!
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