Hello, Old Friend

The last three years I never visited our cottage, not even once; there was nothing there that appealed to me. The 3 hour car ride, the pesky mosquitoes, the 80+ steps to get down to the lake, the lack of Internet; the cons heavily outweighed the pros of going. Over the summer my friends were unsuccessfully planning a trip to Niagara Falls and since I was too lazy to look up hotels, I offered to spend Labour Day weekend up at the cottage instead.

The second I unlocked the front door and walked in, it was like seeing an old friend again and being reminded of old memories. There was the kitchen table where my family always sat at the same familiar seats. There was the big living room where my cousin Anthony taught me how to throw a football while my aunt yelled at us to play outside. There was the white table we all sat around playing bridge and I always hoped to be the "dummy" so I didn't have to think. There were the bunk beds where I would lie awake looking up at the wood ceiling and see random images in the wood knots.

Maybe it's the fact that I'm older and can now appreciate the tranquility and open air of the cottage or maybe it's just the new cleaner flooring that we put down but the cottage didn't seem so bad anymore. The car ride didn't feel quite so long - I'm sure the 1.5 hour commutes to school that I've gotten used to helped. There was not a single mosquito! And it was nice to take a step back from the computer and relax in the sun. The hike up and down to the lake was still a killer though.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I joined my parents and my aunt and uncle as they headed north to close up the cottage for the year. It was only a short visit but I'm looking forward to returning back next summer.

King of the Rock!

 

My parents are currently on vacation in Portugal and then they're off to Spain, the Canary Islands and Morocco. Have fun you two! Miss you already :) ....and bring me back some gifts!