Farewell to a Childhood Vacation Home

Our vacation has come to an end. We have had a blast as a family. Most of our goodbyes are done, except for the final ones before we go to South Asia for our assignment. God truly blessed us with this time, as well as a loving and supportive family.

I would like to share about a summer home that has been in my family long before I was born. 15 years ago, just a few days after my wife and I were married, my grandfather on my mom's side died suddenly from a lung embolism on the airplane home from our wedding. This was a sudden loss of a dearly loved and respected father, grandfather, husband and businessman of his community. Last September 3, my grandmother, his wife passed away at the age of 81. We were able to come together as a family from all parts of the U.S. to say our goodbyes in the hospital before she passed. After a simple and tearful family memorial at the lake, we all agreed to come together at the lake home we all grew up loving to visit and play at this time for a family reunion. This house was bought as a summer cottage by my grandparents in the 1950's and my mom and each of her siblings grew up as part of the lake, boating and waterskiing until all grew and left, still visiting and vacationing there, however. I was the first grandchild of the family, and I have nothing but great memories of the lake as do my cousins and aunts and uncles. This is a family heirloom of sorts. Unfortunately, since the passing of my Grama P., and all the siblings and cousins living on the other side of the country, it was decided this past week during the reunion that the house would be put on the market. It was a tough decision, but a decision by my mom and her sisters and brother to move on with their lives.

So I left yesterday saying goodbye not only to my family, whom I dearly love and respect; not only to the grandparents who God blessed me with and I will always remember the love and fun times I spent with; but also to a dearly cherished family vacation home, that always brought out the BEST times together as family, including the last two times there which were filled with fun memories and tears, lots of tears. So I left with no regrets, only great memories and maybe... a few more tears.

Goodbye to the lake, where I learned to fish, waterski, drive a floatboat on my grampa's lap, dive off the dock, swim to the point, canoe over to the canal to see "THE CANAL PEOPLE" (inside joke for my family), and learn to have fun and love those people called aunts and uncles, though I never considered you that, but more like older siblings because you treated me like a little brother. I enjoyed seeing my own children swim in the same lake off the same area of dock where I, my mom and grandparents swam. Such great memories, not one of them sad. However, when I think of it now, I tend to "fold" a little. (Another family joke)

Thank you God for my family, and all the great times we have had together at the lake. Thank you for this time we spent together to say goodbye to the lake and to grama and grampa one last time. Thank you for the blessings in my life and memories that I will never forget.