Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine | JUL ’19 11I looked up from my book to faces
of pure longing as my kids gazed out
the windows. When we heard the
splashed of the kids going into the lake
a second time, I shut the book. “Okay,”
I said. “Hop up. Grab your swimsuits.”
And that was that. Since that night
we’ve lived whole lifetimes after 8pm
in the summer. Hundreds of bags of
marshmallows have been consumed and
countless games have been played until
it is too dark to know your teammates.
I’ve watched as the bodies silhouetted
on the swim raft became shadows on
the horizon, leaping against the last light
of the day. We’ve glided through water
so still it mirrors our smiles, bundled
in sweatshirts as the light turns bronze
and gracefully opens a mosaic of color
in our path ahead. We’ve cooked din-
ner over the bonfire night after night,
starting to cook only when the kids say
they’re hungry and heading into the
house only for a forgotten ingredient.
We’ve gazed at the face of the moon
through the telescope at the edge of
the water and drifted silently in the
dark, in the middle of the lake, literally
engulfed in a sea of stars.
At some point each summer, I
remember how we laughed watching
those little kids scramble out of bed
that first night, pulling off their pajamas
before their feet even hit the ground.
“Hop up. Grab your suits,” has become
a part of family lore. And for me, it’s
a kind of mantra. I’m reminded that
while there are places in all our lives
where sticking to a schedule is a must;
summer nights Up North simply can’t
be one of them. Let it go. Let your
scheduled world be replaced with won-
der. And peace. And joy. And you will
know, in that moment, there is quite
simply nowhere else you need to be.
Deborah Wyatt Fellows is founder and editor
in chief of Traverse Magazine/MyNorth.com.
[email protected].
editor’s note