A getaway and a trip down memory lane

 

My office at the lake

Who remember those memes posted shortly after President Obama took office that showed a grinning George W. Bush asking, “Miss me yet?” That’s sort of how I feel: “Miss me yet?” I’ve been away for forty-eight hours but for me, who rarely travels, it seems much longer.

Friends gave Jordan access to their lake house, and she planned a family getaway as an early celebration of my upcoming birthday. We left on Friday, and came back today, Sunday—Jordan, Christian, Jacob and a friend, me, and three dogs. Three dogs make it hectic—the yard is not fenced, and they had to be individually walked on the leash. I have to say Sophie behaved like an angel—slept all night in her crate, though I felt half the time she was staring at me on the hide-a-bed directly in front of her. It must have been an effort for her, because she’s been sleeping all afternoon.

Sophie guarding her food from the other dogs

Jordan and I had planned some meals, and we ate well. Big Mac Salad Friday night, wonderful Great Outdoors-style sandwiches for lunch Saturday. She knocked it out of the park with those—even better than what they were modeled on. The secret, we discovered, is a red wine vinaigrette and mayo on the bread to keep it from getting soggy. Friday night, we three adults sat up late having deep philosophical talks about partisan politics, critical race theory, anti-vaxxers, and other matters over which we have no control but lots of opinion.

Jacob and his buddy spent most of Saturday on the water or on the dock. Jacob, who is on the verge of getting his learner’s permit to drive, loves that he is licensed to drive a jet ski or a boat and spends long hours on the jet ski.

Jacob on jet ski

Jordan and Christian spent Saturday afternoon on the dock—not sure if they went on the jet ski but I suspect not. I spent a delightful day reading, napping, and staring at the lake. After a childhood on Lake Michigan and more unsuccessful boat rides than I care to count, I have no desire to be in or on the water, but I love to look at it. So sitting at my computer reading, my eyes would drift to the lake, the long dock, the majestic trees in the front yard. I was reading a fictionalized account about the governess to the little princesses—Elizabeth and Margaret—as they grew up. Found it most interesting, but perhaps more about that another time.

cooking supper with doggie help

Saturday night Christian overcame such troubles as a last-minute run to the grocery store (not that close) for starter fluid and fixed a really good dinner of grilled chicken and a southwestern potato salad that had just a touch of cumin and corn—so good. Friends from across the cake came over, and we celebrated my birthday with chocolate chip cookies and ice cream.

Today I was a bit unreasonable: I wanted to be home for a Zoom program at two o’clock. Christian and I left Jordan and Jacob cleaning the house and made it by a hair’s breadth just before two. The program was on hotels in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, my childhood home. I was interested in learning about the hotels I remembered and didn’t expect it to begin with the mid-1800s, but it did. It soon made sense, however. Many of the once-grand hotels were built in 1891 in anticipation of the Columbian Exposition which was, of course, in our neighborhood. That history fascinates me still, so I was glad to make the connection. And some of those still stand today—the Del Prado, the Windemere East, the Shoreland. But, their glory faded, they are mostly residential hotels. Still the program brought memories of elegant lunches and cocktail lounges—who goes to a cocktail lounge these days? And then there were down days when Hyde Park was one of the most dangerous areas in the city, a problem countered with an intensive urban renewal program. Once again, I was reminded that I grew up in one of the country’s most interesting and complex neighborhoods.

So I’m home, sleepy—Soph is back asleep again—and resolved to get up and get back to work tomorrow. Hope everyone had as good a weekend as I did.

As for that birthday, I'll be thirty-nine, in spite of what I told Jacob when he asked.