I often wonder what P&K will remember the most when they are older. My hope is that they will look back and remember our memories at the lake as some of their fondest. I hope they treasure these memories as much as I do.
in the beginning
Lake life started for me about 8 years ago. Thomas grew up boating and living the lake life. Me, not so much. I grew up camping with my family. But anyway, about 8 years ago, Thomas and I started to spend a weekend here and there up at the lake with friends. I wasn’t too fond of actually getting in the water… I mean you can’t see the bottom, you get bit by fish, the lake bottom is mucky. Just yuck! But I would float around with a cocktail in hand, to be a good sport.
Before, I had never really been to the lake, or gone boating, or floated around on an inner tube. So it just wasn’t my jam. I always imagined that when I had a family of my own, we would spend weekends camping. I mean camping gave me some of my best childhood memories! I wanted to pass that along to my children too. Thomas wasn’t quite on the same page as I was though. He got way too bored, way too fast.
Now I needed a plan B. So after a couple of years of random weekends at the lake, we decided to casually look for our own lake place. I mean, I’d become a little more adventurous and even invested in pair of water shoes to more comfortably walk that mucky lake bottom. I figured we could make the same memories I was after at the lake rather than the campground. Fast forward a few months, and we were now the proud owners of a tiny little lake house!
We spent the next 6 years loving the lake life every weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Our weekends consisted of Friday nights out for dinner; trips to the local winery; boat rides; countless hours on the sandbar; lots of grilling and cocktails; campfires and s’mores; late nights and card games.
And then came babies. And lake life started to look a whole lot different! Friday night dinners are usually pizza ordered in. We’ve only made it to the winery once. Boat rides are shorter, timed around naps, and involve a lot more snacks and sippy cups than cocktails. We’ve traded late nights for early mornings, and card games for toy wagons and water tables. But you know what, I absolutely love this new definition of “lake life.”
SATURDAY MORNINGS at the lake
Saturday mornings at the lake are my favorite, actually. They start super early (no one is surprised at this) and involve lots of coffee (with just a splash of moonshine, you know, because I gotta hold onto just a little bit of my old life too). Even P&K start their mornings with coffee, sans the moonshine, with a few extra shots of milk, that they insist on drinking out of “coffsee cups.”
After getting started on our coffees, we settle into the morning, which usually looks like P&K running around outside in their jammies while Mama sits in her lawn chair, watching the sun come up and enjoying the stillness and peace and quiet of the morning. (Because, let’s face it, no one else is up at this time of day.) They love to run around outside, pulling wagons, pushing strollers, playing with rocks, shoveling stones into buckets, splashing in the water table, and chasing each other and Mack around with sticks. Sometimes we even pull driveway weeds! (Fun, huh! Calm down though, they pick the activities, not me. I mean, they run the show, so if they want to pull weeds, who am I to stop them?)
We usually allow Dad to sleep in a little longer than the rest of the crew, but give it an hour or so and P&K are back inside, telling Daddy it’s time to get up and go on a boat ride. We slap on life jackets and our sandals, Mama grabs another round of coffee, and we load up and head out to cruise the lake. Morning boat rides are the BEST! The lake is always peaceful, with very few boats out. We look for fish and ducks; wave to any fellow boaters we pass, usually fisherman trying to catch a little something before the rest of the lake wakes up; and just take in the peacefulness that’s such a stark contrast to the rest of our crazy life. Hands down, favorite lake activity these days!
Sometimes, though, Saturday mornings look a little different. And if I’m being honest, I like this alternate version just as much. On weekends where Thomas has to work Saturday mornings, P&K and I head up to the lake on Friday nights and Thomas joins us Saturday afternoon. Without Dad, we have to find something else to do in place of our morning lake cruise. Because, as Kayden will tell you, “Mama no drive the boat. Mama drive Mama’s car. Daddy drives the boat. My drive the boat too.”
So we go on an adventure. Adventures come in all different shapes and sizes. Sometimes we venture down to “Addie and Britt-an-ey’s” house to play. P&K have just as much fun on the ride there as they do playing, because, well, they get to sit in the front seat. (Before you call CPS, we don’t get on any real roads here, and we never reach above 15 or 20 mph) But how cute are they?!?
Often, adventures include going to “Wal-Mart,” which basically means any store at all really. Now, normally I avoid the grocery store like the plague! Like for real. If I can’t get it via Kroger ClickList, Target Drive-Up, or Amazon, then I don’t need it. Simple as that. But Saturday morning shopping trips are different, special even. We usually go with a very important list, one that P&K help me make. Normal Saturday morning grocery lists include items such as, but not limited to: cookies, muffins, M&Ms, apple juice, chocolate milk, donuts, and band-aids. (Speaking of band-aids…Did you check out my list of 5 things to stock upon before your toddler turns 1?) So we go for these things, and grab anything else fun that catches our eyes. Our shopping trips normally end up looking something like this…
Regardless of where our adventures take us, we always end up with donuts. Donuts, if you didn’t know already, are a staple food group for weekends at the lake, especially if Dad is working. (Because, let’s face it, I’m not cooking if I don’t have to.) And I’m not talking grocery store donuts. Because, let’s just be honest, they aren’t that great. And around here, we don’t waste calories on donuts that fall short of greatness. No, I’m talking bakery donuts. Like local, hole-n-the-wall bakeries. You can bet if there’s a bakery that features donuts within a 20 mile radius, we’ll find it! And after all of that, worn out and bellies full, we head back to the lake house for a much needed nap. And you know what, even Mama gets a nap on Saturday mornings.
I often wonder what memories P&K will look back on when they’re older, what memories will stand out the most vividly, which ones they’ll hold most closely to their hearts. Saturday mornings at the lake will always be close to my heart.
I pray I always remember these times, years from now when it’s just Thomas and I back at the lake on Saturday mornings. Saturday mornings will once again look different. We’ll sleep in until after the sun has risen, drink coffee in the quiet of the morning, and miss the mornings that once were. The mornings that we are knee deep in right now. So I’m going to hold on a little tighter, enjoy each sunrise, each and every squeal and shriek of laughter. I’m going to buy another box of muffins at “Wal-Mart” (even though we have 2 boxes at home). I’m going to enjoy the donuts. I’m going to live and love this journey.
With love, Amanda
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