The Lake

My first born burst into the world, took a deep breath...and peed on me. Ahhh, motherhood.

That was 31 years ago, but the moment is as vivid as five minutes ago. That is what 31 years are. Five minutes.

Ryan is, of course, a big boy now. He is getting married in a few weeks. He is handsome and smart and charming. Everyone adores him. He is a lawyer.

Did I mention he is a lawyer?

He and his fiancée, Claire (a lawyer too), have just bought a lake house in the Adirondacks where her family has summered for almost 100 years, in the same adorable cabin. They invited me, so I took a ride (a FIVE HOUR ride) up this weekend.

Did I mention Claire was a lawyer?

I am not a piney-woods sort of girl. I am more of a Westin Heavenly Bed, with a spa a few floors away sort of girl. But the charm of this place is inescapable. Stepping out of the car, you are submerged in the scent of pine. The sky is almost blocked by the height of the trees. It is lovely.

Claire's family (I think there were 1000 of them, but I may have miscounted) welcomed me with overwhelmingly open arms. I felt as though I had grown up there.

The connection going back decades is so precious to this family that it just absorbs you. I walked down to the lake Sunday morning thinking, this will be my grandchildren’s summer home. They will know every tree, rock and turn in the road. So I better too. Because five minutes goes by very, very quickly.