From Mighty Waves to Muddy Swamps

This is the story of how i died.  But don’t worry, this is actually a very fun story!  And the truth is, i never actually died.  (“Tangled”? Anyone?)  However, from the time i was 8 until i reached the ripe old age of 16, i could have sworn i faced death at least once a summer.  Perhaps i should explain…

Every summer my family attends a family reunion at this little lake in Minnesota.  The lake itself is quite shallow, not a big beach, and the perfect place for my cousins and i to have all sorts of adventures.  There is one large house, one small cabin, and plenty of room for campers and tents.  The reunion lasts from Friday-Sunday one weekend every summer.

It begins Friday night.  All the aunts and uncles arrive (most in their 60’s-70’s now) and a few other families.  That night is usually pretty relaxed until about 9 o’clock.  Then “Five Crown’s” gets brought out.  This card game might seem like it could be a quiet little game, they would play for an hour, and then go to bed.

Not in my family.

They will sit around for hours playing.  And they can get competitive.  Cards held close to their chests, eyes suspiciously darting back and forth, accusations, triumphant victories, it can get pretty intense!  They finally go to bed around 2 or 3 in the morning.

Then comes Saturday.  Families arrive, more cousins pile out of their cars, and immediately me and the other girl cousins my age do our best to find an adventure.  It started when i was about 8 years old.  My cousin Annie (9 yrs old) and i decided that we wanted to go out in a canoe alone for the first time.

Unbeknownst to us, the wind was plotting against us.  We got out on the lake just fine, paddled around for a little bit and then decided we wanted to go back to shore.  Just then the wind came up and waves the size of a tsunami (or so it seemed) started beating against the side of our frail little canoe.  It pushed us almost all the way to shore about half a mile from our beach.  Trees lined the shore making it impossible to land and we were too busy trying to keep from being bashed onto the rocks to actually get anywhere.  Well my mom finally noticed the predicament we were in, she recruited her cousin and they fearlessly trekked through the mighty waves to pull us back.

And that was only the beginning.

The years passed and each adventure was bigger than the last.  It would take take me hours to record all of them…so i will simply tell you my favorite.

The year was 2006.  I was 13 years old.  It was another family reunion.  I woke up early Sunday morning and made my way from the cabin i had slept in over to the big house where donuts awaited me for breakfast.  My cousin, Ava was there already.  As we were eating, we looked outside just in time to see our cousins Garrett, Trevor, and Jim getting into a canoe and taking off.  Without taking time to think about it, we ran outside, grabbed life jackets and our cousin Beth, and took off in another canoe.  We tried to stay far enough behind them that they wouldn’t see us.  Eventually we saw them getting close to the shore.  But instead of just landing, they took the canoe straight through the bushes and disappeared.

By this time we were getting quite tired.  As usual, the waves were much larger than they appeared to be from shore.  There was a pretty long stretch of beach that we were near which reached all the way to where the guys had disappeared.  We landed and decided to walk there.  When we finally reached the spot, we discovered a clear little stream of water rushing into the lake coming from a swampy area surrounded by trees and bushes.  We knew we weren’t going to be able to follow them on foot in their so we turned around and started back.

As we were walking, we spotted a large lump on the shore ahead of us.  Nobody remembered it from before so we came to the logical conclusion that it must be a deadly animal which would refuse to let us pass.  We huddled together for protection and slooowly crept up on it.  Ava and i grabbed two large branches which we planned to use to defend ourselves.  We got closer and closer…the brown creature was motionless…and, as most logs do, it remained that way.  But we weren’t back to the canoe yet!  A strange rustling in the bushes caught our attention.  Beth almost fainted when three birds flew out.

We started running and made it back to the canoe completely out of breath; but safe!  With all the terrifying things we encountered on the way there, we had completely missed the boys exiting the swamp.  They paddled over to us and volunteered to help us back since the waves had continued to grow bigger.  Trevor had the brilliant idea to tie one end of Ava’s life jacket to each canoe so that they could pull us back…that worked for about five seconds before the life jacket snapped; they took off with the life jacket trailing behind them while we remained on shore with only a little string as a reminder of their attempt at chivalry.

Finally we pushed off and started back.  We got about halfway back to shore before my sister Jenna, and cousins Kathy and Ashlee met us in their canoe.  We told them the story of the swamp and of course they wanted to see this place.  So we turned around and this time canoed all the way there.  Once arriving, we decided to go in and explore.  Jenna’s canoe went in first.  Just as my canoe got in, Kathy started screaming that there was an alligator!  Her hysteria began to rock their boat with caused Jenna and Ashlee to panic as well.

With three teenage girls all in panic mode, we decided that the best option would be for us to just leave.  We made it out of there alive and almost got off the shore before our canoe tipped over and Ava, Beth, and i got soaked from head to toe.  Dripping wet and tired from all the canoeing, running, and screaming, we finally made it back to our shore.  By now, the rest of the family had started the church service in the big house.  We tried to sneak in the back but of course our parents still noticed.

I was grounded for going off and being late…but it was worth it!

I have always loved those reunions; family, baseball, canoeing, and card games have given me memories that will last a lifetime.  Another reunion is coming up in a few months.  This time we have already decided we want to canoe around the entire lake.  I have no idea how that will go, but no matter what happens it is sure to be another grand adventure!

 

Home Is Where the Heart Is

I grew up in small town Iowa.  The summer before my freshman year of college i was emailing one of my roommates whom i had not met yet.  I mentioned that i lived in a small town and she replied that she also lived in a small town…by “small town” she meant over 8,000 people…a suburb of Minneapolis.  I, on the other hand, meant a SMALL TOWN – less than 500 people living in the middle of nowhere.

Where i come from, it is not completely out of the ordinary for a stray cow to wander into town and take a stroll down main street.

Where i come from, the mayor has been known to keep a runaway pig safe while waiting for it’s owner to come pick it up.

Where i come from, we have an annual “Drive Your Tractor to School” day.

Where i come from, a quick walk around town is never actually a quick walk around town…half a dozen people will stop you and want to know how your niece’s cousin’s new baby is doing or if you are engaged yet or how your father’s rheumatism has been.

Where i come from, rumors spread faster than butter melts on a hot day.

Where i come from, you will be expected to participate in the big debate: “Green VS. Red” (i.e. John Deere VS. Case I.H.)

Where i come from, everyone knows when somebody new moves into town.

Where i come from, the grapevine is alive and well…it is quite possible that people will know what you are going to do before you even know it.

Where i come from, i had some of the same teachers that my parents had…and those teachers remembered them.

Where i come from, you can forget a jacket in the park and it will still be there the next day…unless, of course, somebody already found it and brought it back to you.

Where i come from, it is considered rude if you do not wave at somebody when you meet them while driving.

Where i come from, it is not unusual for a tractor, pick-up, and motorcycle sitting side-by-side in the middle of Main Street just having a casual conversation.

Where i come from, the Fire Station is also used as a place for people to go to have coffee in the mornings.

Where i come from, the town will be deserted, and school will be canceled, if the basketball team makes it to state.

Where i come from, a traffic jam is usually caused by a tractor taking up most of the road.

Where i come from, a summer evening can be spent sitting on the front porch as a family and talking to those who walk by.

Where i come from, it’s easier to get out of a ticket because the policeman was also your youth group leader.

Where i come from, we share recipes, we go to church together, we cook meals and bring them to those who need them, we share our lives, joys and difficulties, with each other and it makes our own lives that much better.  A lot of people believe that you need to live in a large city if you want to be successful.  They are wrong.  I live in a large city while i am in college.  While there are a few advantages, (more things to do, places to go, etc.) the isolation among the people living there is enough to make me realize that i could never be satisfied living there after having grown up in a real community.  Once I was speaking to one of my friends who has lived in a big city his whole life and he was telling me about how he didn’t even know his neighbors.

Coming home for spring break, i get to see people that have known me since the day i was born.  They were there to help me celebrate my first birthday; they took me in when i wiped out on my bike right outside their home and cleaned me up and bandaged me; they were there for me when my grandpa passed away; they took my sister and i into their homes and taught us how to sew and bake.  I know the people in this town and they know me.  We are a family.  We work together, play together, grieve together, and rejoice together.

Some people measure success by how much money you make; i believe it should be measured by the impact you make in another persons life.  The people in this town have taught me more than i have ever learned in a classroom.  I might move away one day, but their lessons will not be forgotten.