My Lake House

mood: relaxed, but wishing i was back in ct
music: clark gable, the postal service
random word: atlantis

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let me tell you a little something about my favorite place in the world. it's a house on highland lake in winsted, connecticut. my grandparents bought it when my mom was about 9 years old, so it's been in the family forever. we go every summer, and get to go even more often now that we only live an hour and a half away. but the best part about the lake house is the sense of tradition. the lake house has a rhythm of its own, and when you go there, you automatically fall in to it. and the best part is how you can tell it has had this rhythm since my family bought the house over 40 years ago.

the house faces west, so you don't really see the sun in the morning. but at about 9 or 10 o'clock, the first rays of light hit the very end of the dock. in an hour, the whole dock shines, and the dew that's still on the grass begins to twinkle. and by noon, the whole lawn basks in the sun's glow. breakfast is served while everyone's still in pajamas, and always inside, at the big dining table right under the clock on the wall that chimes every half-hour that only my grandpa is allowed to wind. everyone changes out of their pajamas at some point after breakfast, but you always put your swimsuit right underneath your clothes. and let me tell you, there's something special about a day in which you wear nothing but pajamas and a swim suit. :)

lunch is always served out on the porch, often with a towel wrapped around your wet body, although some have waited for the full sunshine of the day before they jump in the water. lunch is usually hot dogs and hamburgers, cooked on the grill in the back that's built right into the stone. and the lake hot dogs are famous in my family. i don't know why, but it's the only place we ever buy skinned hot dogs. the kind that you know when they're cooked to perfection when their skins pop and they get a little black.

afternoons at the lake are a mixture of swimming, tanning, playing croquet and going out in the boat. the backyard is wooded, and when we were little we always made forts or houses up there, and my little sister and cousins still do. dinner is served late, just as the sun sets, and usually only finishes because it's too dark to sit outside anymore. then we come inside for dessert, to play risk and to watch tv. when you go to bed, it's knowing that tomorrow will hold exactly the same as today, only it never gets boring or monotonous, because it's just perfect.

and my favorite place in the whole lake house is lying in the hammock on the porch with a good book. usually just before dinner, when the light outside is turning from yellow to orange, and everyone's kind of doing their own thing. i could sit in that hammock for hours and read, and as a matter of fact, i did, this morning. :)

i can't even do it justice, but it's wonderful. and if i could live anywhere on earth, it would be right on that lake, right at that house.