Make a wish with each sunset!
This year, I'll admit, I missed my doggies, Saul and Seal, while I was up at the lake. Yup, I've turned into one of those dog people. Each dog I saw I greeted with the "doggie" voice, similar to the "teacher voice" but a bit more syrupy. I gave those puppies hugs, belly rubs, and lots of scratches. In reality they were meant for Saul and Seal. My guys were so happy to see me home! Right now they are sitting at my feet. The windows are open as we await for the heat and humidity to set in before I (reluctantly) turn on the air conditioner. A berry pie is in the oven. I am at home.
On Saturday night CodeBoy took me to see Everclear at the Tupelo Music Hall in Derry, and that was just amazing. I've been following the band for over twenty years, and their lyrics have always seemed to echo what was going on in my life. We got to meet the band after, and Art, the lead singer, was laughing at the fact that my new Volvo 240 '90 car originated in Santa Monica. Their songs? Volvo Driving Soccer Mom. Santa Monica. Their drummer? A Berkeley grad that was so into talking about Kidlet A and his music career.
"Promises mean everything when you're little and the world is so big."
I cried when Art sang this. No words.
"I think I'm going to need
A little time to myself
Don't fall down now
You will never get up
Don't fall down now..."
Years. Years of this...
"You are neurotic and depressed
That doesn't mean that you are sad!"
WORD!
I drove back home alone - about three and a half hours. I so find my soul when I drive. The Volvo. Music. And now I'm back into photography, and took some great photos that meant a lot to me and my past and memories. Stories I've been told of my family.
Open roads - fast or slow?
The above photo shows one of the roads I take out on the way home. When I was younger I loved hitting that open space at top speed. This trip? For some reason I liked driving it slow (unless there was a Vermonter behind me!). I liked taking in the scene, the smells, the wind with the windows open. I remembered the year my Sheltie, Hermes, barked at cows on the side of the road. When I was a child, the turn down this road meant we were almost at my grandfather's cottage and vacation was about to begin. On one of my drives I saw a ten year old girl looking out the car window, taking the same turn I had many a time. I immediately thought of myself. The thoughts running through my head of what I would read with my grandmother, the letters I would write, and the talks we would have.
Long Point, Lake Champlain, means a lot to members of my family. Each one of us has a different idea - whether that be fishing, boating, grilling, you name it. I appreciate that everyone has their own thing. My years were spent reading with my grandmother on the porch of Fair View Cottage, overlooking the lake. We would talk and talk. I would read, and also play her my Stevie Nicks and Fleetwood Mac music as I went through a big phase with them! I would write to my pen pals and friends back home. When others went fishing, my dad and I would also hang out on the porch and read and talk.
More photos with stories from my drive out...
Tionde. Keeping time...or not.
Where supposedly at one time, the best night crawlers were!
Someone recently said to me that they didn't think I could ever move to Vermont because I was too rooted in Clemsville. They don't get me. The 802 has been in my soul since I was born. It's not a matter of here or there. I do not go to Vermont to be a tourist. There's a reason why I talk to everyone I meet up there. When I'm in Vermont I feel at peace. Could I go to Costa Rica, or Puerto Rico, or back to Ecuador? Probably. But I chose to spend my time at Lake Champlain each year for a reason.
Peace. Serenity.
Memories of receiving postcards from her grandfather of cows and goings on at Long Point.
Talks with her grandparents on the porch about where I may be in the future. Dreams. Goals.
Writing my first book overlooking the lake - by hand with a fountain pen.
Seeing my son sit on the deck and playing guitar - and finding his own center.
Seeing my son happy year round in the 802 and loving all that the state has to offer.
This. This is me. No apologies.
xoxo Mausigal
