Peace

If somebody was to ask me where my favorite place is, where I felt the most content, most peaceful, most honest about who I am and who I want to be; I would answer quickly, "Our cabin in Ely."

I joke with Joe that I'm pretty sure this is why he married me. Not only did he get me, but he got our cabin too.

For over 20 years, I've been coming to the cabin. Many of you have come along with me. We have shared sunsets, laughter, hikes, long swims, saunas, boat rides, trip planning, heartbreaks, new loves, the "TV" window, children, naps, mosquitoes, bonfires, and pesto.

For many years, it would take just 4 hours from Minneapolis to the lake. I would arrive at midnight on a Friday night and be back at work at 9 am on Monday morning. Or one summer, I spent the whole summer in Ely. Now, it often takes 5 or more hours (8 1/2 hours with Kai who was colicky is the record) and we go for much longer periods of time. With much more stuff.

We head back tomorrow after being up here for almost 2 weeks. It's taking all I have to get into the car.

(The "TV" window)

Up here at the lake, the world just slows down enough for me to to remember. I remember and feel deeply all the good stuff in life. No schedules. Just decisions like should we go swimming now or later? Hike to Ball Lake Trail or maybe head into town to get scones at the bakery?

Kai, almost 4 1/2 now, cried yesterday that he didn't want to go home either. He understands too. It's magic and it gets into your blood. Ruby hears a loon call and says "B-I-R-D" and rushes to watch them on our bay. I'm pretty sure she thinks they are calling to her.

It's a dream for me to spend time with my kids & Joe now here too. My Dad and Kit made a loft for Kai and wrote a birchbark note to him about it. They said they made it just for him as his own special place up at the lake. I saw him yesterday looking out into the woods from the small window at the peak of the cabin from his loft. In a split second, I saw him as a man telling his son about his grandpa making him this loft and how he spent years during the summer daydreaming from the spot, fishing with his Pops, and learning a deep respect and the ways of the woods.

Then, there is my mom who hiked with us to the Bass Lake waterfall a couple of days ago. It's not a long hike (1 mile there and back) but for Kai it was a grand adventure. I have hiked on that path with my mom probably over 50 times and to see Kai walking with her now and watching her pointing out wildflowers, the first blueberries of the season, and red pines and his excitement while swimming with her in the falls...or laughing with her as Ruby June jumps off the dock over and over again into her arms and thinking she must be tired, but Ruby insisting she does it one more time. Well, I'm sure you can imagine, it's like watching all of my dreams come true.

(First blueberry of season)

Kai said to me today, "Mama, tell me when you were a girl at the cabin. What did you like to do?" All I had to say was, "Just what you like to do here. Just the same."

I can't wait for many more years of "Just the same!"