Goodbye Summer.....

Thursday I took a solo trek to the lake to batten down the hatches for winter. It actually started snowing while I was there....It's always sad to close down the cottage. It's like finishing another chapter in our lives and I tend to dawdle and sift through the memories as I put things away.

My middle daughter always had a tradition at the end of summer. She'd stand at the end of the dock and throw a rock into the lake. It was her rite of passing, I guess. Her "goodbye" to another summer. This year I threw one in for her. Now that she's married and doesn't get here much I figured the tradition was something of a distant memory. When I told her I'd thrown a rock for her she laughed and said, "Oh mom...I did that when Nate I were there that week in September! I'd never miss throwing my rock!" It's nice to know that some things from childhood live on....

I emptied out the fridge and scrubbed it down so it will be shiny & fresh when we come back in the spring. All the canned goods and soda were packed for home so they wouldn't explode when the freezing temps hit. I put the lawn furniture away and took the umbrella off the table outside. I emptied the water lines and put antifreeze in the traps. (I was a widow for a while, remember? I've learned to become quite self-sufficient without a man thank you very much...though I do like having one around!) Then I set out the "mouse food" ~ just in case.

I decided to take one last walk around the lake before I left. To collect my memories and say goodbye to another season. It was getting colder and the sun was going down so I grabbed a flashlight. I didn't get too far when I realized it would be very dark when I got back so I turned around. I don't mind the dark in the summer when the lake is bustling with people but when I had driven in earlier I noticed that every cottage was empty on our side of the lake. There are a few year-rounds on the other side of the lake but our side was much too quiet for me to go prancing around in the dark. There are bears after all - and we did have a murder several years ago. The caretaker at the abandoned kids camp at the end of the lake was found dead in the woods - next to a crow bar. (Sounds like a movie, eh?) They never did solve the mystery...

So I locked up and hopped in the car and said "goodbye" to the lake for the winter. I stopped in town and grabbed a cup of coffee for the ride home. I like days like that. Where something is accomplished that won't get messed up, used up or need to be re-done for a long while.

So winter is here - not officially by the calender - but when the first snow flies - it's here for me! Walking will be hard - I don't do snow - I HATE snow! Give it to me on a Christmas card once a year and I'll do just fine. Our church has a gym with all kinds of exercise equipment in it that we can use for free. I'm thinking of finding a partner and dragging my arse there this winter on a regular basis.

I need to do that! (I found three packages of frozen chocolate cookie dough in the freezer at the cottage....made a batch last night and have already eaten half of them.) I'm so very bad!