The Perfect Family

A bunch of us stuck around the Lake the week after the wedding for a family vacation.

And by “bunch”, I mean we were too many to count.

The bunch included a food-seeking missile of a dog (who has had a number of false positives), a sulking teenager, crotchety old people, strongly-opinionated women, and obnoxious men (and it is amazing how many forms obnoxious behavior can take.)

As an example, the dog got into the bathroom waste basket upon arrival at the Lake house, the danish during a mid-week visit, and the trash compactor upon departure. We found her on the neighbors’ upper deck at one point, and we spied her in the woods as we were pulling away in the boat at another. She also peed on my foot.

I won’t provide further details on anyone else, but, needless to say, there were some moments of tension. People were feeling guilty by the end of the week. (Not all people. Certainly not the dog.) Some worried they might have ruined the week.

So, I gave the week some thought, and I’ve decided to list a few of my favorite moments:

• Sitting in the family room of the rental that first night and laughing about how the money we were paying for it was ridiculous.
• Tea, beer, and wine by the fire pit at the rental and staging a Cialis commercial with my husband using the Adirondack chairs. (Joanne and I at least thought it was hysterical.)

• Sorting through pots, pans, dishes, and spices at the Lake house with my mother and Amber. (Amber took all the good stuff and left nothing for Heather.)
• Watching family come into the dock by boat.

• The potato salad at the post-wedding soiree. And the fried chicken. And the cole slaw. And the ribs (though, technically, I didn’t have the ribs until the next day.) Others voted for the baked beans.
• Watching the kids play in the water in front of the rental.

• The magazine-worthy spread my sister put together for the second post-wedding soiree using the contents of the surprisingly well-equipped rental kitchen.
• Hearing the kids talking quietly among themselves as they lounged on the twin beds and the mattress we threw on the floor in the bedroom.
• Being on the lake with a full load.

• The silly dinner at Canoe. (We are happy drunks. At least we have that going for us.)
• Cruises to dinner at sunset and from dinner during a close-to-full moon. This despite the calmness of one trip being disrupted by the captain of the boat in the rear accusing the co-captains of the lead boat of poor judgement and abandonment. But even this turned into a favorite moment since the two co-captains chuckled at themselves when they realized the veracity of the accusations.
• Watching the kids play board games they found at the rental.

• When Jacqueline, with perfect timing and delivery, said “Oh, for God’s sake Moody” when we didn’t even realize she was listening.
• The view from the porch and being able to see familiar landmarks – Black Cat bridge in one direction and the floating dock in front of the Lake house in the other. It was like being at home, but from a different perspective.

• Seeing Austin’s face when we told him, after the fact, that the rule where you had to fall off the tube if your tubing partner was thrown off was only a Heather rule.
• The trip into Meredith for ice cream when one of the obnoxious men made the sulking teenager smile.

• Coffee on the porch. Appetizers on the porch. Sangria on the porch. Anything on the porch.
• The last sunset cruise when, as we pulled away from the rental, I thought “That was the best money we’ve ever spent.”

Was the week ruined?

Not by a long shot.

Maybe we should be a little bit more like the dog.

Maybe we should occasionally allow ourselves to eat a few Rice Krispie treats and then forget about it.

Because all will be forgiven.