Joe and I were living in Midtown, and after visiting friends at their weekend house in CT we decided it would be nice to have a weekend house in the country ourselves. I grew up summering on the saltwaters of Long Island, and wanted to head in that direction. Joe grew up on Lake George, and had a strong preference for fresh water. I said, "Well, at least we can have a boat then." So we got out a map to see what was in a manageable radius of Manhattan, and there was this lovely 14-mile long lake. Lake Wallenpaupack. Without any idea of how to pronounce it, off we went to look at real estate.
I wish I could say we bought lakefront property and now it's worth millions--because it would be. But property taxes surely increased proportionally to the value of the property, and I'm certain I wouldn't own that property anymore. Instead, we bought a little house on two acres a few miles from the lake, and then we bought a boat. A few years later we bought a bigger boat: my dad's, which he towed up from Florida.
We had so many good times on that lake. When my three stepdaughters started spending every other weekend with us we did a lot of water skiing. The boat could pull several skiers, and we had a blast. I haven't water skied in many years, but I'll never forget the feeling of rising out of the water, crossing wake, etc. And intentionally dropping a ski, because I never mastered the technique of a deep-water start on one ski.
I'm laughing about one memory that just surfaced. The girls (all gorgeous teenagers) and I were lying down in the boat, invisible thanks to the high transoms, when some nuisance boater came by and said something nasty to Joe for whatever reason. Immediately the four of us stood up, middle fingers extended. LOL The guy took off like a shot.
Here's Lake Wallenpaupack just a few years ago, in March. I still stop by occasionally.
Oh, what a great story. And you may have answered a question that came to my mind during your Christmases post: It seems that you and Joe waited awhile to have kids (which is fine, but sometimes surprising, especially for the times) (and maybe my math is wrong). Perhaps the existence of other children contributed to this decision. None of which is my business! I'm just waiting for the movie about your life to come out.
ReplyDeleteWe waited four years, enjoying our time in Manhattan. Then we moved to NJ and started trying for a baby. Instead, we had four years of infertility. Our first child was born the day before our 8th anniversary. When she was little she told people she was born the day before we got married. :-)
DeleteYes! We need someone to make a movie about Susan's life. First you need to write a memoir, Susan, then sell the movie rights for a gazillion dollars to Steven Spielberg or Spike Lee or Kathryn Bigelow (or if you favour Canadians, Denis Villeneuve). Then buy a cottage on Lake Wallenpaupuck.
DeleteSusan, your challenge (should you choose to accept it, but you really should) is to combine all your writings, and put it together in a beautiful memoir, that can then be made into said movie. You've got the chromebook, so there's no excuse. (Oops, I've just read Helen's comment - great minds think alike.)
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I'm with Joe, I love fresh water lakes.
I either didn't realize you had stepchildren, or didn't remember.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone is right and you should write a memoir.