al lago

this is the landscape that my soul will soak up for the next four days. i have been looking forward to this for months. while the hot, hot weather of late july/early august will not greet us as it did last time, the lake is one of those things that has remained largely the same, at least in my mind, for many of my twenty seven years. sitting here, more than a thousand miles away, i can smell the cool inside of the cabin, the breeze lowing off the lake, probably some brats on the grill. i can hear the loons' laughter that will wake me up much earlier than necessary while on vacation. i can also hear the last fishing boats heading in to their docks as the last light fades from the western horizon, across the lake. these images and memories have filled my head through the most challenging days of my cancer adventure. throughout my education, i have often been assigned to write about my "favorite place". without hesitation i have always chosen to write about the lake. it is just as responsible for who i am today as growing up in a loving family, or all my education, or even, of late, my ability to perform under adverse conditions. my soul is filled while i am there; i cannot wait for the peace and quiet.

of course, it won't all be quiet; dad's birthday is this weekend and a celebration, of sorts, is in order. so saturday will bring his side of the family to the lake to join us. i am looking forward to seeing my cousins and their children; hearing laughter and playing some croquet. junk food (and maybe some healthy junk thrown in for good measure) will be there - chips, pop, cheese and crackers. burgers and brats. some beers. it'll taste like the lake, too.

hopefully the weather cooperates and we are able to enjoy it all outside. i'd like to see a good midwestern thunderstrom roll through, too, though.

it has been a much better week for me this week as i've had more time to spend balancing the different aspects of life. today's highlight was my first yoga class; i thorougly enjoyed an hour of practicing breathing, exercising my lung, stretching out - my right side, especially, which hasn't quite healed completely to full strength after surgery (thanks to coughing a lot), and even relaxing every muscle in my body as i lay on the floor. i will certainly go back and look forward to learning more about the practice.

even though i feel kind of like a kid at christmas, looking forward to a mini vacation, i am sure i will sleep well tonight. my eyelids are already growing heavy as i type this. tomorrow morning will be here before i know it.

more awe inspiring fotos to come, i'm sure, next week sometime.