Floating on Sunshine
It seems crazy to find heat so far north, but up here this week in the pine forests that envelope the walker like giant totem poles, on the baking sheet hot sand of the beaches, and on the gravel roads that crunch with each step, I find myself ablaze with wonder at how hot it is.
Time passes so quickly up here - one minute we are piling out of the van, shouting hello to all the folks, and before the full moon can light up the constellations we are standing over suitcases, packing with the same emotion one has when standing before a train station waving goodbye to the oldest son as he leaves the farm for college -and forever. We therefore must enjoy each moment in the sun as if time has reached its limit, slowing each tick of the clock like a marble descending through molasses.
This is all the more reason why I smile at the hot sun as it sautes us during the glorious afternoon. When one is on a lake vacation one is at the mercy of the weatherman, and I’ve been up here at times when thunderstorms are so violent they seem to punch one in the gut with fury, sending dogs and men racing for cover. I’ve also seen vacations when the air was so cold it seemed that the glaciers who silently crawled back toward the North Pole 75,000 years ago have awakened and sent their legions of icy soldiers back to flatten the forests and cities, restoring the frozen tundra that held dominion over all for so many eons.
So let the lazy afternoon heat up the water, let the frogs hide under paddle boats and docks, let the sand spiders hot-foot it through the tiny dunes covering the sloping shoreline - and let us rejoice in the warmth of the sun. Tomorrow’s storm clouds may be huddling just beyond our sight. We sit in the water in our swimsuits, awaiting them with a defiance that comes from spending a day without memory - a moment of pure joy.
