ATL - At the Lake

My Mom's parents lived on Stubbs Bay in Lake Minnetonka. Lake Minnetonka is a large area made up of several connected bays. I remember spending time at the lake with my sister when we were kids between the ages of 4-14. In the summer, we would spend a couple of weeks at a time visiting my grandparents, just the two of us. It was never boring at the lake or at least I didn't think so. We would wake up and have breakfast and change into our swimming suits and pretty much spend the day swimming and playing in the lake taking breaks for lunch or a Popsicle.

The house my grandparents lived in seemed huge to me. I often wonder if it would feel big anymore. It was built into a hill so the bottom floor opened onto the yard and both the first and second floors overlooked the lake. On the first floor my grandparents had built a big Swedish fireplace that you could view from three sides. As a kid I thought it was marvelous. My grandfathers office was on the first floor. The kitchen, dining room and family room were also on this floor along with a big utility room and laundry room. Upstairs was the living room. The door to it was always closed unless my grandparents were entertaining. The living room was where the piano was kept. We always had to wash our hands before we played that piano. It was kind of a treat to play music on that piano. It was that piano that I would play with duets with my mother, my grandmother, my aunts, my uncle...I remember many family gatherings when there would be upwards of 30 people sitting in this room. There would be singing and always laughter. At Christmas we all sat together and laughed and opened presents that as a kid felt like they kept coming forever. It never felt crowded, just alive.

The lake was quite stunning from this room. The view over the bay was pretty. It was lined with big trees and spacious yards. It was a medium sized bay with an island about 2/3 across the lake. Almost exactly opposite of our house on the lake was a church. The church had chimes and you could hear them ring. There were motor boats and pontoons that traveled in front of their house, but in those days you could still see row boats and small fishing boats around the bay. The water went still at dinner time and usually stayed that way for the day. The glassy lake was stunning and quieted even the squirrels.

At the time my grandparents lived in Orono it was not quite as trendy as it is today. The Twin Cities had not yet stretched this far west. The infamous driver education movie road - Highway 12 was still the main thoroughfare to go West to the lake. My great grandparents had a cottage next door to my grandparents. Across the road was a Frank Lloyd Wright house. One way on Tonkawa road was a big piece of property that belonged to the owner of Midwest Federal Bank. The other direction was a camp.

Some of my favorite memories are swimming with my sister and friends. My grandfather used to get large inter tubes that were patched and could no longer be used in tractor tires. He would give them to us to play on in the water. My sister and I used to try to both stand up on one together. We would rock back and forth until we went splashing over. We would flip over backwards and try to come up in the middle. We would spin around in circles until we were dizzy. When we were tired we would lounge in the middle, legs up over one side and head leaning on the other. The horse flies seemed to be attracted to the heat of those big black tire tubes and when there was one around we used to have to dive under the water and slap the surface to scare it away. The sun and the water and entire days we would spend outside. I think sleeping never felt so good as the nights after our fun on the lake.

In the evenings we would sometimes fish off the end of the dock with my grandfather or one of my aunts. We had bamboo poles, no rod and reel, but perfect for fishing for sunnies and crappies. There was field of dirt that was known for night crawlers and we would dig into that field and get a some big worms and use them as bait. I don't think I could do this anymore but it was what we did back then. My grandfather would clean the fish and my grandmother would dip them in batter and fry them up.

My sister lives in Arizona with her two young daughters and husband. I miss her in a way that is hard to explain. We don't talk often but she is always in my thoughts and heart. My parents retired and bought a beautiful lake home. It is a wonderful place to visit. The whole family usually gathers at their house on the Fourth of July. My older brother, his adult children and my sister and her family, my younger brother and Kristin and I. There are usually fireworks around the lake. We raise the flag and sing the Star Spangled Banner in 4 part harmony - because that is the way my family does it. We often play volleyball in the lake. We pull out mattresses and floating innertubes and laze around in the water. There are jet skis and motor boats and pontoons on this lake. For good measure my sister and I kayaked around the lake near my parents shoreline - keeps the memory of the small row boats from my grandparents lake alive.

We take Chewie and Gromit when we go to my parents house. They love going to visit my parents. There are always special treats for them - Frosty Paws, Marrow Bones, big dog treats. When my dad fries bacon there is a piece or two that gets to the dog dish. My Mom will make sure they get a little something extra in their bowl after dinner. Then there is the lake and the yard and the lake and the dogs next door and the lake and the deer and the lake - plenty of things for a good dog to roll in and swim in and enjoy. This year we got Chewie on the pontoon with us. He also learned to swim.
Gromit loves the water but just to run in, Chewie loves it because it cools him down. Gromit went on the pontoon in a very Gromit way - no questions just whatever we were doing he is always willing to try. I love that about Gromit - he will try anything once. They sleep through the fireworks because they are so tired from their day. I am waiting for the day that Chewie learns how to sing a long with us. Gromit and Chewie love to race around and roll in my parents yard and the race to the water. I wonder if they enjoy the lake together because they get to play uninterrupted. Like my sister and I, there are no classes, no demands, just lots of time for play a lot of fun stuff to eat and attention from a bunch of people.