Tag: lakefront living

Posted on in ageing, health and wellness, Hobbies, lake living, mental health, writing

Live or let die

Heart drawn in the snow on a frozen lake

There comes a time in your life when you have to decide which of your dreams you want to let live and which of your dreams you are ready to let die.

When I was a teenager, I dreamed of performing in a symphony orchestra. I wasn’t talented enough at the flute so I let that dream die.

I also dreamed of learning to play the piano. We didn’t have a piano in our house, and my parents didn’t have enough money to buy one, so I put that dream on hold until my children took lessons. I signed up to take lessons with them and still play to this day. Check one for the live category.

When Dave and I were first married, we dreamed of buying a lakefront cottage. We never bought a cottage, but we did realize our dream of living on water when we moved to our lakefront property almost 25 years ago.

Sometimes your dreams change. At one time in my life, I dreamed of parachuting out of an airplane. We had planned to do the jump on our tenth wedding anniversary, but then I got pregnant (you can’t jump out of an airplane pregnant) and we started raising a family. Now that I’m older, I’m perfectly fine with letting that dream die. (I mean what was I thinking? Really? Jumping out of an airplane!)

I have many fantasies that fall into the “what I would do if I had all the money in the world” category. Fantasies is all they are and I’m perfectly fine knowing that’s all they’ll ever be.

There is one dream I’m not willing to let die. I want to be published. Something. Anything. And this blog doesn’t count. I’m not ready to let go of that dream yet so I will work hard in the next few years to make it happen.

It’s okay to let some of your dreams die. The only crime would be to not have dreams at all.

Posted on in family, lifestyle, mental health

Call a cottage day

deck chairs on a dock

On Friday, when the temperatures were forecasted to soar into the thirties, I said to Dave, “I’m calling a cottage day”.

You don’t need to actually own a cottage to call a cottage day. A cottage day is when you pretend you are at somebody else’s cottage, where there’s no laundry or chores calling your name and you spend the entire day lounging around, relaxing on the deck reading books, playing games, eating and drinking.

It’s a day where you give yourself permission to do whatever you want and not even think about housework or chores.

I slept in, read a magazine while eating my breakfast, did a few things around the house, then headed to the lake. I read my book on the dock, threw the ball endlessly for Benny in the lake, went for a long paddle and three long swims, before heading up to have lunch on the back deck.

After lunch, I took a nap in the screened porch, then we went to our local farmer’s market to stock up on fresh greens and bread for dinner. It was exactly what I needed and the perfect panacea after a busy week and month.

Years ago, after we got married, Dave and I had the great debate. Do we save and buy a cottage property, or buy a home on the water? Two big factors swayed us to our decision to buy a year-round waterfront home.

The first was we were both absolutely useless at home renovations, repairs and maintenance. The idea of maintaining two properties was just not in the cards for us.

The second was our decision to move out of the Greater Toronto Area to north of Kingston where lakefront properties abound. We made it a goal the minute we moved down here to own lakefront and bought our little piece of paradise six years later and have never looked back.

Now Dave’s favourite thing is to go fishing on Sunday nights after supper. When we’re out on the boat, he always says the same thing. “If we were up at a cottage, we’d be stuck in traffic right now driving back to the city.” Then he casts his line into the still waters, the setting sun casting a warm glow behind him, and turns to me and smiles.

The perfect end to the perfect cottage day.

This week’s #HappyAct is to call a cottage day. Enjoy!