On Golden Pond

What a glorious day off I had! I went to Center Harbor, New Hampshire yesterday to spend the day with a neighbor from back home. She lives in a beautiful rustic home on Squam Lake, the very same lake where On Golden Pond was filmed. We set out in a canoe and picked wild blueberries on the way. It's not so easy to pick blueberries when you are not anchored in the water. Careful to protect my eye from being poked, I grabbed onto a branch and shoved berries into a plastic zip top bag as the canoe rocked from side to side. After we rowed to the dock across the lake, Lizzie jumped in for a swim, while I lay out basking in the sun, munching on my fresh picked berries.

The conversation was dynamic as Lizzie and I got to know each other better. Back home, we were always fond of each other, but our busy lives didn't leave time for deep conversation. The lake was conducive to heart to heart talks, and we both had much to say!

When we got back to her house, we made lunch and coffee and ate on her screened-in porch overlooking the mountains and the lake. Breathtaking! Soon, Eloise, her 63 year old organic farmer hippie singer friend came over to jam with Lizzie. Eloise used to be in a blue grass band, and she now sings in her local church. She has a beautiful soprano voice, and accompanied herself with an accordion-like instrument, a tambourine, and a flat bottomed ukulele. Lizzie tuned up her guitar, handed me a bongo drum, and the fun began. I haven't sung like that in years, three part harmony to old Pete Seeger folk songs, Peter Paul and Mary, Cat Stevens, Simon and Garfunkel and more. At first, I was intimidated. While I love to sing, I don't have a strong voice, and I was in the company of two professionals. My saboteur was telling me not to sing too loud just in case I made a mistake. My more loving self told me to just let it rip and have fun. We sang through a thunderstorm that brought us indoors for about an hour, and then back outdoors when the sun shined as if it had never rained.

In real life, Lizzie sings in two bands, Swingset Mamas, her children's band with partner Marlowe Bechmann. She moonlights as a rock guitarist and vocalist in another band that I do not know the name of (sorry...).

Before we knew it, two hours had passed and Lizzie had to hightail it out of there to pick up little Lucy from day camp. Hugging each other goodbye, we made plans to get together when we are back to "real" life.

I love being up in this area of the country, and I made a conscious effort to make my last day off from camp a memorable experience. When I set out with an intention, it really helps me to focus on having that intention come to fruition. Yesterday was a perfect example of that. I turned down many invitations from fellow staff: to go bowling (fun but I can do that at home), to go shopping at an outlet mall (not so much fun and not helpful to my dwindling checking account), having lunch with a friend and her relatives at a beautiful lake (the most appealing of all my invitations, and one I would have accepted had it not been for Lizzie's invite).

What do you do for fun and recreation? Are you making time to really slow down and relax and have fun?