Goodbye, Old Friend

I have such fond memories of this place and it is a part of so many big and small moments of my life. Having a cabin in Hudson was nice because it was so close, but it was amazing how 'far away' it felt once you pulled into that long, gravel road. Sadly, we just sold the place that gave me so many of my favorite childhood memories. The strain of joint ownership and the upkeep of taking care of multiple homes got the most of my family. I have mixed emotions about the sale. On one hand, I'm happy it's gone because the stress of having so many people involved in making decisions and responsible for keeping everything in working order had really gotten the best of my parents and had soured some family relationships. On the other hand, with the loss of both of my grandparents many years ago, this was the last connection I had to them and letting that go brought a lot of that pain back again. This was the place I played tag with my cousins, sat on the beach and watched fireworks on the 4th of July, went swimming with my brothers on sticky summer afternoons, bundled up to rake leaves with the smell of fall in the air, went sledding until my fingers and toes were so numb that I had to come inside and sit by the big stone fireplace with hot chocolate, learned to shoot targets with my brothers and my dad (and realized I was a much better shot than both my brothers, by the way!)...and then the later years where my girlfriends and our dates all spent a late night after the Silver Belle Ball laughing and talking and not wanting that magical night to end, gatherings of another sort that involved trying to hide my friend's puking off the side of the deck and stumbling back up from the beach, sharing this wonderful place with the man I would spend my life with, having that same man ask my parents in the driveway of the cabin for their blessing to propose to me the night before he popped the question, letting Dixie and Bailey play together for the first time (that turned out to be the weekend before Bailey took her last breath), and finally bringing Ryan up this summer to smell the smells and play in the house that brought me so much joy (even though I know he won't remember.) My cabin had a distinct smell and I wanted to take it all in and never forget. That smell could instantly bring me back to any one of those precious moments in time. It is a beautiful place and I truly hope that the new owners can make half as many happy memories as I have.