Week at the Lake

We are just winding up our week’s vacation at the cottage – a week we had looked so forward to. Notions of leisurely hours spent dockside, soaking up sun, drinking in the lake action, puttering away idyllically at all the little labours of love that make up cottage time – DASHED! Mother Nature had other plans.

We arrived last Saturday in the drizzle and cold and with the exception of a few hours the next morning when the torrent relented to drizzle and mist again, rain and gray was the order of the day ... for six days in a row. At first it was cosy and romantic – hubby kept a roaring fire going for two days and nights straight to ward off the chill while I stay bundled in my sexy double thick sweatpants and sweatshirt and gray wool work socks. My persistent cough (that I had for several weeks) seemed to get ever more persistent and my energy plummeted. By Tuesday I made my way to the local hospital to get checked out. Hubby was patient during the five hour wait during which I was prescribed a puffer and some antibiotics. We celebrated with Boston’s (yup, that was the name of the place) Chinese food – famous for its Chinese and Canadian Cuisine - according to the pale green take out menu.

The rest of the week played out like the movie Groundhog Day ... each one similar in flavour, running together, but none without enjoyment and contentment. We checked the weather network on our handhelds and wondered when the nasty weather would turn around. We suppressed our outrage when we saw that back home they were enjoying sweltering heat and sunshine while we sat stuck at 13 degrees Celsius.

We decided to surrender. Aside from the fact that we didn’t have much choice, we concluded that the week would be what it would be ... and the best that we could do is just go with it. We dropped our preconceived notions of what we wanted our vacation to look like, and starting enjoying the subtle nuances of that being thrust upon us. We slept in. We spent time together talking, teasing and laughing. I swam in the lake and hubby braved the icy shower (no hot water at the cottage). We donned our raincoats and explored the rustic pathways and trails that run off the long dirt road leading to our property. We marvelled with appreciation at our sturdy rubber boots that could take us anywhere. We made trips to the nearby town, meandering the main drag and through dusty curio and antique shops. I read The Story of Edgar Sawtelle cover to cover and played my music loudly while hubby was busy and out of sight. We sat across from one another in front of the fire and virtually renovated our cottage and property – each dream a building block – and no idea too grandiose. In the evening we lit candles and by the light of the fire, we watched movies – me bundled in three layers of whatever clutching steaming cups of tea.

And then today, on our last full day of vacation – the sun came out and christened us golden. We were rewarded with a perfect September day of blue hued skies, brilliant sunshine and crisp, warm air. We spent all morning laying on the dock, gazing up at the sky, snapping pics of dragonflies and fluffy clouds. We celebrated with a “refreshing” dip in the lake, a nice long hike and a lakeside dinner of schnitzel at a local eatery. We ended our perfect day on our deck, gazing at our million dollar view, marvelling at how wonderful life has treated us.

And that was our week at the lake.

Misty mornings.

Mid day mystical rainscape,

Rain and muck for the most part ...

Proud of my rubbers!

Sun came out!

... and it all ended peacefully.