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Friday, July 11, 2014

For Winter Blues - Meditation on Summer

As always, summer is passing in a blur of sunshine, food, family, and fun.  We can always count on the lake water being warm enough to swim in around the 4th of July, and so we've been taking advantage of that fact.  Yesterday much of the lake was smooth and shiny and just begging for us to get in.

We're so used to our boating routine that we sometimes forget how cool we are, until someone new comes along to remind us.  Our new friend Bianca came out with us yesterday.  Bianca has been living in the U.S. for about 4 years, but is from the Netherlands.  Our "typical day on the boat" consists of slowing motoring along the shoreline oohing and aahing at the homes we'd someday like to own, followed by burgers and/or brats on the grill.  When it gets too hot we jump in the water to cool off.  And a special treat is to wash our hair in the lake to get the kind of shiny softness you just can't get from city water.

Sometimes, in the dead of winter, I pull out my summer memories as almost a meditation exercise.  I'll close my eyes and recall floating on my back in the lake, or standing near the shore letting the sunfish nibble on my toes and ankles.  Or just laying back on the boat with my face to the sun, where there are no bills to pay, no work to accomplish, and nothing to think about except the gratitude felt when a perfect day presents itself.

And even when it rains we manage to have fun!  Last night the showers rolled in, so a campfire was out.  Instead, we played cards at the kitchen table, ate Swedish Fish, and laughed until midnight.


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