Last year we stopped by for a quick visit with our Michigan
friends. It was magical. Their hospitality, along with the awesomeness of Lake
Michigan made us instantly want to return.
Fast forward one year and we visited for a longer 4 day
adventure. Since our first visit resulted in our son conjuring up the
convincing arguments to get a puppy, this time we brought our 9 month old pup.
In those 4 days we burned stuff, shot stuff, drank stuff, drove stuff, balanced on stuff, explored stuff, and swam in stuff...all together...four adults, one teen, three girl tweens, two boys, and two pups.
First, some photograhic evidence...
Campfire night and exploring...
Sand dunes...
Beach and lighthouse...
Currie-directed photo moments...
Looking into the future...
Crazy-loved creatures...
Fun exploding things...
Fun shooting things...
4th of July fun...
Creatures in love...
Second, here's what I learned...
We love Michigan…or At Least Michigan with These Friends In It
The woods, sand dunes, lake, fireworks, beer, and outdoorsy life were all awesome. But I wonder if it was that awesome because we had our friends as our guide?
Our Family Is Messy
We leave things around, we are into our 'screens', and with
six of us we just take up a lot of space. I know we added some stress to their
lives, but they invited us anyway, fed us, provided places to sleep, and were
always hospitable. I wasn't even 'aware' of this until we left…I feel bad about
how our kids disconnected from theirs and just left stuff around. But I suppose
that's just the reality of different cultures…where every single family
approaches life differently.
Much In Common, Little In Common
We love that we are quite comfortable talking the second we
get there. We love participating in what they do: shooting, swimming,
campfires, dune exploring, beach combing, beer tasting, cooking, salsa making,
(and on and on). We love how we can talk about music, politics, religion, work,
technology, etc, with no concern for fist fights (even the very touchy subject
of not liking pale ale…another topic we agree on).
However, now that I'm home I realize that I don't actually do much of any
of those things with my kids. Maybe what I don't have in common is the
motivation to overcome the effort required to make these things happen at home
(which makes me sad).
They mean the world to us
I don't see them much, and don't even really talk to them
much outside of a few text chats. However, they hold such a fond place in our
hearts…even our kids still talk about how much fun they had and what they loved
about our visit. I eventually recognized what they sacrificed to have us there
(food, vacation, comfort, peace, …) and am in awe of their friendship…it makes
me wonder what they got in return?
I will always be grateful for our Michigan adventures...I miss you guys already.
