Yesterday morning O bounded down the stairs and asked,
“Daddy, do you want to go fishing?”
How could I refuse? “Yes, you get the boat ready.” I replied.
I finished my work and met her on the dock. I remembered the things she had forgotten – life jackets and a camera. We catch and release, but photo first – when we can.
We pushed off the dock and were on our adventure. Continue reading Beneath the waves
I desperately needed my coffee this morning. I am glad I remembered to setup the coffeemaker before I went to bed last night, and even then, it was a challenge to get moving.
I spent the first hour of the morning with my feet up on the hassock sipping a cup of coffee, looking out the front window at the lake, reading the news, sifting through e-mails, and in general allowing the time to slip through my fingers and then, I got busy replying to posted comments and reading blog posts.
Over two hours have passed since I crawled out of bed this morning and I begin to write. My mind is all a jumble of thoughts going every which way. B is awake, I can hear the printer upstairs spitting out a sheet, or two. At first, I thought it was J – B’s sister, or O getting up and coming downstairs. But, the sound changed and I realized it was B printing from her iPad in our room. She woke and came out thirty minutes or so ago and asked me why I had set my alarm for 6 AM, after all, we are on vacation and I relied that I wanted to be up early, before everyone else. Satisfied she had an answer, she went back into the bedroom closing the door behind her. I suppose my alarm woke her up and she hadn’t been able to get back to sleep.
Coffee has never tasted so good, as it did this morning. Continue reading Monday morning coffee
It’s another beautiful morning by the lake. It’s quiet and everyone is still asleep, including Ivy. I have drained the coffee pot, checked e-mail, transferred photos from photo cards, played games, and done everything imaginable except start writing.
The weekend has come and gone and with it another Ausable River Canoe Marathon. It’s an epic event for the town. There have been sixty-six of them, including this year’s race. The town hosts a festival and it is a big deal. The parade is bigger than the Fourth of July parade. There is a Saturday car show, carnival rides, a craft fair with vendors, and at nine o’clock, the race begins when racers pick up their canoes and run to the river, jump in, and begin paddling to Oscoda – some 120 miles away. It’s quite an event.
We had guests this weekend. Continue reading Burgers and dogs
Spring Break 2013. Every year I look forward to this week on the calendar. It’s a break from the normal and an escape to a slower pace. For the kids, and my students, it’s a break from school and signal that the end of the year is near, very near. I am certain they had a day count going to the time when the bell rang and they could rush home and begin their break. I worked to make sure that the day was full of learning and had enough structure to keep them focused and tuned in. For the most part, I was successful, when we come back next week the sprint to the end begins and I’ll have to deal with another day count. Continue reading We’re here…
Wednesday was a great day. Fishing, boating, swimming, skiing, dinner out, and no clean up! This morning I ignored my alarm and slept a little longer. I could hear the wind in the trees and the lake slapping the pontoon and kayak and I got up to a grey sky, rain, and a very quiet morning. It is a good way to begin the day.
Yesterday was a fun day. O awoke and asked Continue reading August and a rainy Thursday morning
Twenty days, less than three weeks, Monday felt like a Monday. Summer vacation seems like a perpetual weekend, almost like Groundhog Day or the book I read earlier this summer, 11 Birthdays, where the day is repeated over, and over, again. It’s not quite like that but there is no break in the week and if I am not careful the line between one day and another blurs.
There is a difference between the weekend and the week here, the lake is much calmer, there are fewer boats, and there are fewer people along the lakeshore, but for me there is little difference.
Sunday had been a late night watching the Olympics and Monday night would likely be no different. Continue reading Monday night summer storm
It’s mornings like this one when I truly appreciate the cottage. It is quiet and the lake is calm, much calmer than yesterday when the wind whipped the lake into whitecaps, the trees rustled in the wind, and the sun beat down through the clear blue sky.
Grandma and grandpa left almost a week ago and I miss grandma and our early morning coffee together in the front room looking out upon the lake. Ivy’s curled up on her pad almost as if it is her nest, sleeping. I got up much earlier and it was cool, crisp, and clear I decided to sit out on the deck and invited Ivy to join me, she decided to stay inside and curled up and went back to sleep. Continue reading Weeding, fishing, and a mean sunburn!
It is Teacher Appreciation Week and I am feeling appreciated. More importantly, I am grateful for the teachers I had who shaped me through their lessons, stories, patience, and passion. Thank you to, and in no particular order, Atlee, Guinn, Wright, Giesberg, Clark, Shand, and Gilbert. I know there were more, but it’s early and I am thinking and writing. I am also grateful to the teachers who have shaped my kid’s lives and made a difference for them. THANK YOU and THANK YOU for being a teacher. Continue reading Winding Down
Over a year ago, I wrote ‘The List.’ It was blog post about winning the lottery, or more specifically, what I would do if I won the lottery. With tonight’s jackpot listed as $540 million or a half billion, it was hard not to think about it as I drove home, yesterday. I mentioned to grandpa and grandma that a lot of good could be done with that much money and it could. So, I decided to dust off last year’s post, revise it, and repost. Continue reading The List – Part 2
Sunday’s post was brief, but it cut into my morning time. I usually try to get up before anyone else and enjoy the quiet time before the day begins, but yesterday Olivia got up with me, and grandma and grandpa were already up and moving. By the time I was writing, the cottage was in full motion with everyone moving for the morning. I started to write but, realized it was futile to continue and stopped, vowing to finish at night when everyone was spent from the day. But, I forgot I was one of the ‘everyone,’ and fell asleep on the couch, reading one of my spring break books – Scat by Carl Hiaasen. Even Ivy had gone upstairs by the time I woke up at 1 AM and stumbled upstairs and climbed sleepily into bed. Needless to say, I didn’t write last night. Continue reading Spring Break Part II