This past weekend my kids and I were invited to the lake place in Northern Idaho of my best friend, Katie, and her family. They were celebrating 50 years since Katie’s parents bought it and to my best guess, I’ve been coming to the lake with them for 45 of those 50 years.
They’d made a time capsule of memories of this place for the future generations to open in 50 years. As I sat on the porch of this cabin in the woods, I tried to span all those years in my head. From the experience of it when I was a kid and it was a rustic cabin with a telephone on a party line, and Katie’s father, Jim, started planting the apple tree orchard — to now where we can comfortably sleep four little families, enjoy high-speed internet, and eat from those trees he’s carefully nurtured all these years.
Then I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what this place and the world will be in 50 years, when my kids would be 58 and 54. The image is so fuzzy. But the apple trees gave me an idea that whatever it will be is based on the roots of what we’re nurturing now.
Like the apple trees that Jim has so carefully tended over these years, protecting them against deer, planting them with space to grow, watering them, and pruning back the damage after hard winters, this long view helps give me insight into what we’re planting. Like the seeds of friendship between my kids and Katie’s 20-something daughters, who have both been nannies to my little ones. Also, the ideas of how to tend to the land at the lake cabin, where the rule is that we could pick whatever was ripe from the plentiful gardens, but we must eat what we picked. And nurturing the ideas of interdependence of land, water, and animal use that are so much more apparent at the lake than in the city.
Those quiet moments on the deck at the lake were absolutely restorative to me. The long history that I have with this family and that place made me wonder if I’m doing enough of my part to make sure this beautiful place, meaning the lake their cabin sits on specifically and the earth in general, will be a refuge for others in 50 years. The image comes of the plastic bags my purchases from Target on the way to the cabin are sitting in comes to mind and know I’m not.
But that’s the beauty of time away and the self-care that comes with it. Both restored my energy and determination to do better to make sure that all the future generations get the chance to do the same.
For more of the goodness inspired by the long-view provided at the cabin, please see my post on my personal blog: Giving Lift.
(photos are mine)
The Heart of the Matter 
Cheers to you, Wynne. You ask the much needed questions that look beyond yourself to those who will succeed all of us now living. Indeed, your questions pertain to the living world and your hand in sustaining what is beautiful and good. If we all did half as well as you, your children and mine would have reason to say thank you. Read or reread the last paragraph of Middlemarch for a more poetic tribute to you and all those like you.
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I love the way you put it about sustaining what is beautiful and good. I’m off to find a copy of Middlemarch…Thanks, Dr. Stein.
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Wynne, this sounded like a wonderful weekend spent with a good friend. 45 years is quite the friendship and you and Katie must’ve seen each other through so many pivotal life moments. And I love the image you are painting in your head of your kids as adults enjoying the future of this cottage. May it happen and May this long standing tradition continue for generations to come!
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Wow, Ab – you are so good at reading my subtext. Yes, Katie and I have seen each other through a lot and it is a friendship that I cherish so dearly. Thank you for your wishes – may it be so!
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Good writing is supposed to be evocative and that’s what your post did for me this morning, Wynne. Especially the soulful looking ahead…thinking about Mr. D and Miss O and their enjoyment of the lake in fifty years…eating from the apple tree…based on the roots you’re nurturing now. I’m getting a little misty over here…feeling the weight and wonder of your words. 💕
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Oh wow – now your comment is making me tear up!! Thank you, dear Vicki!
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💕💕💕
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So glad you had a lovely, rejuvenating weekend in such a beautiful place! So many of the changes I have made in my own lifestyle and focus have been inspired by asking myself to think about the future for my grands. They come to mind a lot when I evaluate things like environmental strategies, social issues (since both are female) and how to teach by example as you did on your trip home. I hope that lovely cabin in the woods continues to build memories well into the future.
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I love how you pinpoint your inspiration, Deb. It makes it so much easier to have that long view when we try to envision a specific scenario, doesn’t it? At least for me! And I love the inspiration that you provide me on these issues. Thank you!
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💗💗
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❤ ❤ ❤
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You ask some great questions Wynne. Looking into the future is so hard. I wrote a silly piece on the Jetsons a few months back and in my Google search I start to go down a rabbit hole of looking what people predicted would happen 50, 75 years ago. Some of the guesses were spot on, some way off. I think that’s one of the challenges for conservationists is to get people to imagine forward and see how their actions have consequences. Love how you’re being such a great role model. If we want our great experiences to continue for another 50 years, we need to take care of what we’ve been given. And one more thing, glad to hear you got some quiet moments to yourself!!!! They’re needed too. Ha, ha.
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Oh boy, Brian! I can only imagine what a rabbit hole that was. That’s because I’m not brave enough to type it in and get sucked in myself. 🙂 But you are so right about trying to imagine which actions have consequences. This particular lake had some old dock pilings from the lumber industry that started rotting after the business closed. It turned out that they’d penetrated the substrata of the lake and the water was leaking out. Some guy figured this out, plugged the holes and they no longer allow pilings for docks. Isn’t that interesting?
And amen about the quiet moments!! Thanks, my friend!
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Wow, glad someone had the foresight to figure that out. It’s funny how things like that build up. One small thing here affects another thing and so forth. Anyway, glad it was a fun getaway.
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These are such important things to ponder and it’s heartening to know you’re thinking about how your small actions today can shape a better future for your children. When we bring up similar topics with my in-laws, their response is always, “We’ll be dead! You can deal with it.” I think we all can play our part, in our own backyards and beyond. So glad your had such a relaxing and restorative weekend, Wynne!
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I think we can all play a part too, Erin. Sometimes it’s just so hard to figure out where to start. But I love know you are doing it in your head and backyard too – because it helps keep me going!
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What a wonderful place that you’ve been a part of for so many years. I hope your children will be able to enjoy it 50 years from now and see the time capsule. It made me a little sad because of our family property where we spread my mother’s ashes. It’s been in her family since the 1920s. My grandfather divided a mile of riverfront into parcels for his sisters and his children. Generations later, there are people I don’t know there. They aren’t caring for the property like your friends. It’s heartbreaking to see junk and trash littering our land on the river.
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A mile of riverfront – wow! Yes, that stewardship of family land is hard. I’ve watched how my friends have done it beautifully but it takes a lot of work and a lot of communication. I can totally imagine how heartbreaking it would be to see junk and trash on your land. Thanks for the great comment, Elizabeth!
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My brother and I own one parcel and we’ve asked the extended family to keep their “stuff” on their own land and not to touch ours. The hard part is I’m so far removed from Washington and am not there to take care of it. My cousins did, but they gifted their parcels to other family members who have different ideas than ours. It sounds like your friends have down a fabulous job.
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❤
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This is what vacations are all about – they renew our capacity for wonder! Glad to hear you and the children left behind your daily routines and responsibilities and enjoyed some ‘green’ time!
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I love how you say “they renew our capacity for wonder!” Yes! Thank you, Mary!
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Gosh, you make me think back to when my soon-to-be husband and I would visit his parent’s very basic little summer cottage on the Chesapeake Bay. That was 60 years ago and it’s hard to believe that so much time has passed. In fact, my granddaughters are now six and eight years older than I was when we first started going. The cottage is now permanent home to the ex’s second wife, who has us all visit for birthdays and tacos. Times change. Here’s to the next 50 years! And thank you for sharing this rich, rich, rich reminiscence. I was right there with you, eating the apples.
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Now that’s an interesting story about history and love, Julia! How awesome that the second wife still invites you to come!! Here’s to the next 50 years! –
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The Long View. That’s a good mantra!
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Thank you, Ari!
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It sounds like you all had a lovely weekend! How awesome that you all are part of a tapestry woven by the history of your relationships with one another and with the natural space of the lake. Your reflections remind me just how important nature is to me both mentally and physically as well.
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I love how you put it that nature is important to your physical and mental health. Yes! It is a tapestry as you put it so beautifully! Sending lots of gratitude for your comment and for you reading!!
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Beautiful posts Wynne. I loved your comment about you must eat everything you pick. It shows you were raised with responsibility and sustainability in mind. Reflecting on the future, not only are you considering what you can do personally (as we all must do), you’re passing down your learning and values to the next generation
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What a great way to pull it all together, Brenda. Not only considering what we can do personally but also passing down the values to the next generation. Beautiful!
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