The Season Begins

The season has started.

You can feel it in the extra boats, the bicycles, the ATVs, the trailers, and the license plates from somewhere else.

From our place, not much has changed. The lake is still there. The mountains are still there. The wind is still doing whatever the wind wants to do. The ATV riders are polite enough.

May weather continues to make no promises. The sky can go from cloudless to cloudy in an hour. Sunshine doesn't necessarily mean warmth. Rain appears without much warning. The wind, of course, remains fully committed.

This week I noticed a young family at the pool.

It wasn't what most people would call pool weather. The sky was gray. The air was cool. There had been rain on and off throughout the day.

The family didn't seem to care.

The kids were in the water with goggles and pool toys. The parents sat nearby wrapped in towels, smiling through the whole thing. Nobody appeared bothered by the temperature, the clouds, or the fact that summer hadn't quite arrived.

They were determined to make the most of their time here.

It struck me that vacations are often like that. You don't wait for perfect conditions. You've already packed the car, reserved the condo, loaded the cooler, and convinced everyone to come along. You make the memory anyway.

Watching them, I felt a little smug.

Not in a mean way.

Just quietly grateful that this place isn't a getaway for us anymore.

It's Tuesday mornings and windy afternoons. Grocery runs and dog walks. Watching the weather change its mind three times before dinner.

The visitors come here hoping to squeeze every drop out of a few precious days.

They get the vacation.

We get the life.