Where House?

Again, Sam and I have returned from the cabin. Again, we are exhausted, dirty, and have piles of laundry. Again, I'd have given anything to be able to stay there.

As I've said before, the cabin has gone through several transformations in its life. It was originally a hunting cabin. I have very clear memories of being there when there was no running water, one main room, bunkbeds crammed into a small porch, and an outhouse. Compared to that, it's now luxurious. A living room, kitchen, bathroom, and two bedrooms make it downright homey.

However, it is just one of many cabins on the lake. The other properties have grown and changed in much larger scale. Most of them are actual summer homes while ours is still a getaway. I feel both amused and defensive when I see our little red cabin sitting between large, landscaped houses.

The cabins are set back from the road and Jackie and I have always made a game of seeing who could spot it first. We'd stare out the window, peering between the trees, trying to make out its tiny form. Once spotted, one of us would shout, "There it is!" and the other would cry affectionately, "It's so SMALL!" Repeating that each time was as much a tradition as the ice cream cones. It wasn't a trip to the cabin without it.

That is one thing I've let go of. We have a marker by the road which means I no longer have to slow down and squint through trees to try to find it. Both times I was there with Sam, I didn't say anything as I slowed down and turned into it's grassy driveway.

That's why I was so happy to hear Sam figuring the game out for himself. As we wound down the road to the cabin, Sam began asking, "Where house? Where house?" He repeated it several times. As soon as it was in sight, he cried happily, "HOUSE!"

Some things never change!