Assembling our much-expanded family under one roof in the Adirondack Mountains on Lake George, NY was the actualization of a life dream.
Three generations gathered around the table for dinners the majority of nights, making our group the fifth generation of our family to do so.
I was thrilled to cook for eleven or more beloveds, vacation or not!
My sister, who now lives a much quieter existence with her husband in Vermont, wryly pronounced us The Waltons—and though I had to research that reference, I think she may have been right.
We celebrated birthdays, sang, floated or swam, had a dance party, and tie-dyed tee shirts. Of course, the adults drank adult beverages, read books, tried to get some exercise, and solved the problems of the world, too. We even played intergenerational Charades, which after the kids went to bed, had some outrageous moments for sure.
But there was also Mermaid World.
Mermaid World was a pop-up dessert bar by night, and a co-working space by day, the brain child of our very creative daughter-in-law Jessica, and named by our granddaughter, who is six.
Every night after dinner, we were invited downstairs in shifts to avail ourselves of real food invented by a team that included a three year old. The menus were hand-lettered. The offerings were served with enthusiasm—and their candy salad was to die for!
A world populated by mermaids and unicorns is a world I want to live in.
When smoke clouded the air, and the temperatures were blistering hot, we talked about science. And when our kitty Clyde of almost twenty had to bid us farewell, we talked about why, and where he might be.
Still here in our hearts, the children answered.
And they are right.
Hummingbirds in the garden, goldfish in the pond; bubbles, nature walks, and fantasies fill our memories.
And Mermaid World.
A perfect summer. A childhood summer.
A summer to fuel our dreams. ©
