Watching the children grow and mature, seeing the wife having fun, and I must admit a little selfishness for myself because I like to fish a bit and explore with the sail boat; are the most important things to me. We live and work in a congested city. Even relaxed times are punctuated with some tension. We traveled to the beach one summer week end and found a different living style and a different pace.
We bought a house and enjoyed it for two years. Then the deterioration of the house and equipment from ocean corrosion, and the crowded congestion reminded us that we had accepted conditions at the beach that are all too similar to our urban living.
A friend from college days called and invited the family to spend the week end with his family at "the lake". I was not thrilled with the thought of a day at the lake when I had the whole ocean. Our two daughters thought it would be fun. I knew that was because my college buddy would have his daughter and handsome teen age son there. So, we agreed to spend the week end at "the lake".
His house was modest, but the water and the view were spectacular. I was surprised at my first impression. His house was nine years old and looked like it was two. No corrosion and very fine landscaping. The first morning there we just sat and caught up on the past while the children giggled. That afternoon we sailed a bit. The next morning we fished. I found that I was relaxed and did not look forward to leaving. Some friends came over the previous evening for a chardonnay party, but crowds were non existent.
The next week I thought about it all. My wife said "why do we drive to the beach and that confusion, when the lake is so comfortable"? That was all I needed. We sold the beach house and built a house we really like at the lake. We spend many week-ends there, and I am even more pleasant at work.
By the way, our house is in North Carolina at Kerr Lake. We may even retire there when the time is right.
No comments:
Post a Comment