Memories!

As this sweltering heat consumes the air around us my thoughts drift back to a time when I was young. I have said more than once that I grew up on the water. No we didn't have a house on the lake but as far back as I can remember we had boats. In fact, my dad just sold his last one about a month ago.

The boat pictured is not our actual boat just an image that I downloaded that stirred up memories. Gosh, this post would be days long if I told every story about that boat that I have locked away. The funny thing is, I remember giving my parents an attitude about going to the lake because as a grew into a teenager we would go for every weekend and when dad took vacation, we didn't go to the beach, or to the mountains to ski we went to the lake. Usually dad would take 2 weeks off in the summer and away we would go either to Barren River or Cumberland Lake. Did I mention that this boat....didn't have a shower. We bathed in the lake with Ivory Soap!

As an adult I am really glad my parents loaded me and my attitude into the car. Some of my best memories with my parents and brothers were on that Gibson houseboat.

Troy was just a little guy. He wore his life jacket ALL the time. I wonder now if he slept in that thing. Troy had a water mishap as a real youngster and was afraid of water. I am not sure to this day if he loves the water. But boy he loved to fish. Every time he stuck his pole in the water he would pull up a bluegill or crappy. That would be pronounced "croppy" in Kentucky but "crappy"in South Carolina. It will always be "croppy" to me. The lake was where I learned to ski, lost my first ring, and memorized the routes to many hospitals. (Those stories are for another day.)

Back to the sweltering heat, I remember many summer days when we were in the lake, I mean swimming, from as soon as the breakfast dishes were clean to dark. We would only get out to eat and then we would be back in again. Thinking about these times, there was nothing really big it was just spending time together as a family. As I remember, it is bitter sweet. To have that time back....knowing what I know now. I would do things SO differently.

Go out and make memories with your family....I wonder what Elise will remember from her childhood. It won't have anything to do with a lake and well that just makes me SAD!