Saturday, August 29, 2009

GO CATIE!



Catie has been working for YEARS for Thursday night. She always wanted to be a cheerleader, just like her Mom. She had her first cheerleader uniform at 2 years old and began cheering in elementary school for the city football teams. Thursday night was her first High School game and she did a great job!

As I watched her hoisted into the air over and over, I was thankful for all those gymnastics lessons we had paid for and suddenly the hours spent sitting in the parking lot waiting were worthwhile.

Just like Mom, she is tiny and so she is always on the top of the pyramid, making us hold our breath until they toss her in the air and catch her. I am sure Karen was proud of her girl on Thursday night.






Tawas Bay

















I once asked Justin to draw or paint something for me and when he asked for suggestions, it was exactly this scene I described. Instead, he took this photo on our recent weekend in East Tawas. Maybe someday he will draw it for me, since I love his art.

The Tawas Bay is my favorite spot to go and replenish and relax. It's beauty continues to astound me and as soon as I hear the sound of the waves, smell the pine trees and feel the breeze coming off the lake, I feel at home.

Spending summers on the very spot where this photo was taken left me with a lifetime of good memories. This photo was taken in front of my grandparents cottage, which now belongs to another family. I have been able to rent the cottage next door and the new neighbors are kind enough to tell me to feel free to use their beach area. I wander over and the memories flood over me, taking me back to a simple time in my life.

I remember summer mornings when the lake was freezing and I didn't care. It was THE LAKE! I really didn't know any better, never having been in anything but one of the Great Lakes. I remember working until I was a strong enough swimmer to swim to "The raft" and the feeling of victory the day I did it. Now it belonged to a motel owner who yelled at us to get off, but we didn't care. He wasn't going to swim out and get us.

I can still see my Grandpa's Cocker Spaniel, Sandy, looking out the window as he waited for his beloved owner to come up the walk dressed in his yellow corduroy vacation shirt. He wore a white shirt and tie every other day even into his retirement years. I remember him buying me comic books to pass the lazy afternoons. He had chosen classic literature in comic book form. Smart man....I read them all.

I think of blueberry picking with my grandmother on Sundays after Mass and lectures from my grandfather on how to drive carefully with her in my car. I remember squeezing into the tiny kitchen for Sunday dinner of roast beef, which was served EVERY Sunday.

I look at each cottage and remember the last names of the families who lived there and how much fun it was to return each year to see my favorite people. It was amazing to realize this year that many of the cottages are owned by children and grandchildren of those same people. Maybe what I love, is that it does not change. My childhood awaits me when I get to Tawas Bay.