The staircase down to the lake greeted me with damp moss covered stairs and an uncanny amount of spider web strung from rail to rail, the sun streamed through the dewy webs at the corner of nearly every railing. I smiled and thought the spiders were sure busy last night, and opted to use my fishing pole to knock them down through the areas I was walking.
I got down to the dock and unsnapped the dewy cover from the boat and loaded my gear inside. I hopped in and unsnapped the rest, thought for a moment about testing my knowledge and taking the boat out. A usually on a trip like this there’s a rowboat around, or we bring one, and on mornings like this I’ll just troll around for a couple hours basking in the early morning calm on the lake. This year there’s only the speedboat. I thought twice and decided against it, opting instead to just sit across the back of the boat and fish from there until Pablo was ready.
Pablo is what I call my brother when he becomes my Chauffer while I fish. He’s not much of a fisherman and would much rather man the motorized things. He chose this name for himself, it makes me laugh.
By this time the early morning fog is lifting from the lake, revealing several fishing boats, and later the cottages start showing their faces from across the lake, and I exhale deeply as I listen to the herons and sparrows chime in to the other music of my morning.
It isn’t too long before my sister arrives, and starts belting from the screen porch words to me that I don’t really want to answer, I’m in the zone, but I do anyway, I’m glad she’s here. It isn’t too long before she makes her way down to the lake, as well as Pablo, sporting his moosen P.J.’s mom made him. The three of us and cooper (my sisters dog and beloved family pet) decide to take a ride to the “good spot” to hopefully have a little more luck with the fishing. Neither of them wants to fish, but I’m enjoying the company and welcome their offer to join me.
We sit for a while, as I cast in and out, fight with a couple fish to no avail. Lose a few worms, which win me some sarcastic comments from my siblings, but I don’t care, I’m living. Pablo turns on the radio in the boat and my sister instantly starts singing. I go for another worm and cooper shows up to sniff out what’s in the container and walks away with random dirt chunks hanging from his chin fur. I laugh, Rachel is grossed out, and this makes me laugh more. A swan family approaches and we reminisce about my brother’s near death experience with the swans from the day prior. We fill Rachel in and we all have a good laugh. As I cast and reel in I can’t help but be thankful for this moment, and for my siblings.
It s quickly decided that we’re hungry and ready to get back for some breakfast, so Pablo takes us home safely and as we climb the stairs back up to the cottage we are greeted by the smell of bacon frying and dad whistling whatever oldies tune he has playing on the old 8track radio player he found in the closet. Rachel instantly chimes in with song and soon we are all singing as we walk back into the screen porch. Mom can be found at her sewing table creating her latest and greatest, smiling along as the family gets things together for breakfast. Even cooper gets an egg as we all settle down on the screen porch for breakfast.
Just as we finish breakfast “brown-eyed-girl” comes on and my sister quickly turns up the radio as we gather up the plates and dishes and quickly clean things up we sing along. Mom scoops up the dog and smashes his face in to hers and dad starts dancing along in the living room with whichever daughter is nearest at the time. C.J’s already lost getting gas in the boats and air in the tubes.
I exhale and inhale deeply and relish the moment, knowing they are few and far between; wishing we could stay like this forever. With the oldies playing on the 8track, the lingering smell of bacon, and the sounds of the lake crashing against the shoreline. A new day awaits us.
.originaly written 7/24/09.
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