Ah summer! Finally I can come to my cottage at Lake Huron just to relax, enjoy the beach, visit with friends, and sit on the deck listening to the sounds of the trees and of the water. What a change to arrive here thinking only about Rest and Relaxation!
I am still having trouble believing that I am retired. During the past twenty five years, visits to the cottage included thoughts about the office and late nights at the cottage dining room table writing reports or preparing briefing notes. I was always busy responding to emails when the blackberry buzzed. I never arrived without at least one and often two, heavy briefcases filled with reports.
These tasks are no longer part for my agenda, so now I can focus on aspects of cottage life during the summer that can be experienced without using energy to think about the office. I can simply enjoy the blessings of summer and the blessings of cottage life.
- Beach walks top the list. I try to walk barefoot through the sand every day usually in a bathing suit so that I can take a quick dip if it gets too hot. The Western shore of Lake Huron is an endless white sand beach that allows for long walks along the southern Grand Bend beach and onto the nearby Pinery Provincial Park beach. The walks are frequently interrupted to greet neighbours who are also enjoying the beach and enjoying each other.
- Enjoying free time with friends and neighbours and embracing those leisurely impromptu visits that occur spontaneously. Today I spent a sunny afternoon sitting on the deck with a dear friend, sharing a glass of wine and picking up a conversation that ended abruptly last September on Labour Day weekend when each of us departed to our busy city lives.
- With no schedule to govern the day, living is very easy. As a family of adults we eat when we want to eat, sleep when we want to sleep, play when we feel like playing, have time for hobbies and take time to simply do nothing. Life proceeds at a pace that allows natural body rhythms to determine how the day is spent.
- Cottage food is another blessing. Menus are casual; food choices come from local markets; there is plenty of time for preparation; and there is always enough food for those casual guests. Drinking a morning coffee on the deck while listening to the birds forage for worms is a luxury. Enjoying meals al fresco is a dining experience that is regularly enjoyed.
- Sleeping while hearing Lake Huron roar or quietly lap on the beach has to be one of the summer luxuries. As well as sleeping in absolute darkness during the night (no street lights for light contamination) with a cool lake breeze blowing into the window, there is the opportunity to nap on a chaise lounge in the afternoon or while lying on the beach and drying off after a brisk swim.
While reflecting on the summer blessings as I write this post, I am aware that all are simple pleasures that require very little money or equipment. The major requirement is time and postworksavvy gives time. I am able to enjoy these pleasures at my cottage but such pleasures are also available to those who take day trips or go camping to indulge in beach time.
Postworksavvy encourages you to enjoy the blessings of summer on a beach. After too much time spent n the office it is a privilege to goof off and indulge the spirit!