A Day at the Lake

I had the best time today that I've had in a very long time and, for those of you who know me, I ALWAYS have a good time, so today had to have been FABULOUS (which it, of course, was)!!!!

A group of 50 - 75 of us all went to a park on the recreational lake thirty minutes from here. One of the men had rented a Pavilion at a State Park (at least, I think it was a State Park) and every family who attended pitched in $5 to help cover the cost. All of us brought our own food: meat for the grill, side dishes, and drinks. Each family ended up having their own table, but we walked from table to table offering tastes of this, a bite of that, a spoonful of a favorite recipe. Some people, like us, went out early. We had planned to leave by 10:15, but it was closer to 11:15 before we actually got on the road. By the time we arrived, there were already about 8 families there. Throughout the day, more arrived. It seemed like there was a constant influx of new folks.

Some people, like us, stayed late. They cooked dinner rather than lunch and enjoyed the waning hours of sunlight. In my rush this morning, I asked the children to all help pack up. One of the boys was responsible for the condiments, another was given the task of packing up our meat. I had planned to take Cheddarwurst and Polish Sausage. When we arrived and Don went to throw our meat on the grill, we discovered that the appointed child had also brought along a package of Angus hot dogs, which served us very well when we stayed so late we needed dinner. Don, in his infinite wisdom, had purchased extra buns, so we had enough for both meals.

So, "you spent the day at the Lake; how nice" you might say. But that wouldn't begin to explain our day. A friend brought his ski boat and two of his double inner tubes. Another brought 8 kayaks for our enjoyment. Moms sat on the beach together talking while watched all the youngsters playing together in the water or digging in the sand. Dads played cards in the Pavilion, laughing and telling stories. A group of tweens (Dane included) went from kayaks to tubing to swimming, and back again in a gaggle. I moved from group to group, socializing with people I see daily but seldom have time to talk with. At one point, a group of us gals commandeered the kayaks and all took off together out into the lake. We splashed each other, explored a rocky area, and just laid out on the water, enjoying the sun and fellowship. I swam until my eyes ached, spending time with both Daelyn and Deanna. I tubed on two separate trips, with both Deanna and Daelyn, and rode in the boat with several good friends. I laughed, told stories, listened, joked, fellowshiped, ate, laughed some more, and had the most fun I can remember in recent history. My arms ache from tubing and kayaking, my head aches from sun glinting off water, my lip aches where I bit it when I hit an especially rough patch of wake, and my eyes ache from suntan lotion and lake water. But I'm content, tired, and happy.

During one of our tubing trips, our good friend, Ken, stopped the boat for a swim. We all dove in and the tubers rolled off into the water. All the women gathered together, most of us talking at the same time. One of my dear friends and neighbors commented that she had smiled so much today that her cheeks actually hurt. It wasn't only ME that was having a wonderful time.

We were one of the last families to leave the lake. It just was too much fun to end any earlier. We're all exhausted and I keep thinking that this is only the start of the summer. It's hard to imagine that we might have even more of these days yet to come.

The thing that made our day so much fun was not that we were at the lake, although that was awesome. Not that we had a ski boat and kayaks, although they were amazing. Not that the weather was perfect, although I'm sure that contributed. No, the thing that made the day so special was the relationships, the people who were there with us. Spending time with special friends in a setting other than the usual.

I'm exhausted but so very content. It was a lovely day for all of us. The next time we get a call that someone has reserved a shelter and we're invited to come, we may have to camp out there the night before to be sure we don't miss a single minute. They're just too precious to waste these days.