When I was a kid there was a favorite place to cool off in the summer. About 10 miles west of the ranch was a lake that boasted great sand beaches and refreshingly cold water. Stealing away from the hay fields in July as the sun was making its way to the other side of the world, I would languish in the cool water as it washed away the dust and worries of the day. Just a few days ago, I was driving by that lake, the sky was hazy from a dramatic summer fire a mountain range away. The glorious and tragic thing about fires in the west is that they make the sunsets beyond beautiful while they wreak havoc on the landscape. I couldn’t help but stop and snap a shot of the scene before while Aspen was wondering what in the heck her mother was doing shooting into the smoky sky.
Back at my desk, I was digging around in an old file, I came across an essay that I wrote 15 years ago for a Composition Class while a student at Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska. It seemed very fitting that I share it with you. It is as fitting today as it was then about the lake that was my retreat
The Lake
A cool breeze reminded me that it was getting late and I must go. Darkness was covering the summer sky just as a blanket covers a child, gently, and with promises of a new tomorrow. The sun had gone, leaving traces of its glow on the horizon in hues I had never been able to find in my crayon box. Dark silhouettes jutted into my colors, striking granite poses that almost came to life in the endlessly rippling lake, which so graciously reflected their majestic power. The water carried with it a rhythm that lolled my senses into worlds where I could dream, walk backwards in life or ponder the day. And it never let me go away feeling empty, as its tender, frothy edges tickled the sand with whispers of advice; leaving me to create my own resolution. As I sat beyond the outstretched fingers of its edge, I watched the sand being carried to and fro; all the while marveling at the beauty God had created.
I hope you, too, have a place like The Lake.
Back at my desk, I was digging around in an old file, I came across an essay that I wrote 15 years ago for a Composition Class while a student at Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska. It seemed very fitting that I share it with you. It is as fitting today as it was then about the lake that was my retreat
The Lake
A cool breeze reminded me that it was getting late and I must go. Darkness was covering the summer sky just as a blanket covers a child, gently, and with promises of a new tomorrow. The sun had gone, leaving traces of its glow on the horizon in hues I had never been able to find in my crayon box. Dark silhouettes jutted into my colors, striking granite poses that almost came to life in the endlessly rippling lake, which so graciously reflected their majestic power. The water carried with it a rhythm that lolled my senses into worlds where I could dream, walk backwards in life or ponder the day. And it never let me go away feeling empty, as its tender, frothy edges tickled the sand with whispers of advice; leaving me to create my own resolution. As I sat beyond the outstretched fingers of its edge, I watched the sand being carried to and fro; all the while marveling at the beauty God had created.
I hope you, too, have a place like The Lake.
Originally published on the first contemporarywesterndesign.com site July 2007
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