Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Heaven on Earth


I don't think heaven is anything like the way it's portrayed in the cartoons - with all of the clouds and harps and everyone dressed in white robes. I'm thinking that heaven is different for everyone. Maybe for some people, it's sitting behind home plate at Fenway watching the Sox beat the pants off the Yankees. Maybe for others it's a table at Friendly's where the waitress brings a hot fudge peanut butter sundae that never ends. For me... it's a quiet evening in Maine, when the water begins to sparkle and the sky starts to turn pink. If that's not heaven... I don't know what is.

We spent plenty of time at the cottage last year, and it was great... but I think this year is shaping up to be the best yet. Nicholas is finally old enough to appreciate what a special place it really is. We spent an amazing Memorial Day weekend at the cottage.

He loved wading into the water (no matter how cold it was), taking boat rides (and yes, that's a picture of him driving below), and hunting for loons on the lake. Every morning, he'd run to the window and say, "Where did the loons go? I can't see them." And he was always the first to spot them in the water, or hear them crying across the lake. My little dude is a lover of nature for sure, and it makes me so happy to see him falling in love with Maine, just like I did as a kid.

We did a lot of different things on this trip too - things we've never done before. One day we visited a wildlife park that had lots of different animals found in Maine. And yes, I finally saw my first real, live moose. Granted, it was behind a fence, but it's the best I could do. Someday I will see one in the wild. (I've only been waiting 37 years.)

We also went to the Memorial Day parade, which was so fun. I have some great shots of Nicholas waving his flag and cheering for the fire trucks, but they're on my dad's camera. Mine ran out of batteries!

Bring on summer vacation... I'm ready.

2 comments:

Jill said...

Wonderful pictures and it was so nice to see you, Todd and the BIG BOY this past weekend. How he has grown and changed over the winter. Just a shame you don't have a picture of his first LEAP off the dock in to the VERY COLD WATER. I am sure there will be many more visits and chances to do that this summer. We hope the water will be a bit warmer before he does that again and that he has a bubble firmly attached to him.

Anonymous said...

I love reading your posts. You write so nicely and share so much emotion. I saw my first moose in the wild in NH last October (32 years for me), so never say never!