Farewell Family Cottage!

 

        “Moving Day at the Suits Family Cottage on Portage Lake, Michigan.” That would be the perfect caption for this photo above. However, if you look a little closer at my husband and nephews, you'll hear whispered cottage stories left untold. There are mixed emotions and questions in this photo on a hot summer day. Why are we here today? What family tales do we have to tell from 'prerona' (before Corona19)? 

This historic cottage has been in my husband’s family for over 80 years. My mother in law lived here when she was six years old and attended the local school. She brought her high school boyfriend here for boat rides who she married later. They spent every summer at this cottage with their three children on the lake. This is where they learned to drive a motorboat, water ski, and swim out to the floating dock under a full moon. My husband is still envious of the early morning water skiers he sees today. His childhood friend Frank would go out with my him in his red motorboat to water ski when the lake was as smooth as glass. They had a ski jump, a tower diving board, and a raft in front of their cottage.

Our nephews and our children spent every childhood summer here playing card games, swimming out to the raft, eating salty buttered corn, and playing horseshoes. The Fourth of July fireworks are canceled this summer due to COVID-19. The holiday week would usually be full of sparklers and firecrackers in the dark. The picnic table would be overflowing with hamburgers, hot dogs. corn on the cob, blueberries, and strawberries picked fresh from Michigan fields. I’m sitting at the lake now watching tons of boats pass by full of families, dogs, and modern jet skis. They are determined to continue family traditions here despite the pandemic.

Who is missing from this photo of my three nephews today? My sister in law Kathy passed away six months ago. Her ex Mark, Grandpa Jim, and Aunt Jerry all passed away one year ago. I buried my mother one month ago. What can we do to keep their memories alive? We can tell family stories to each other and our children’s children. There are cottage tales of ghosts upstairs, parties, and floods. Now you can order a pizza delivered to the cottage and shop at a modern grocery store. Aunt Betty’s, A & W and Dairy Queen have reopened with Covid19 restrictions. Summer is limping along through the pandemic and people are eager to get back to the 'new normal'. Cottage memories will live on through the mementos piled in the back of our van. The sun is always shining and the water is always blue at this peaceful place in our minds. When we face difficulties moving into our new home, we will think of this almost perfect day at the summer cottage.