The Great Lake Effect
The offspring and I are spending a few days touring the U.P. of Michigan…and what a glorious, flat place it is! Last night, we saw the stunning sights of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore from the beautiful waters of Lake Superior. We were awed, charmed, mesmerized…and then the kids were instantly bored on the return trip. The lady sitting behind us so nicely stated, ‘We’ve already seen this so this return trip is boring! Why can’t they go any faster?’ It is the concept of boring that I want to eradicate from my children’s vocabulary and mindset.
Within five minutes after deciding she was bored, #2 whipped up a zany conversation with the people sitting near us by stunning them with her newly acquired praying mantis glasses. She only needed a little bit of inspiration to launch herself out of the ‘boring’ blackhole. I hope this is always the case for both of them. I tell them all the time that I very rarely get bored myself. No matter how ‘boring’ something might be, my brain always seems to be bursting with imagination beyond what my mental faculties can usually handle! It is why when I am driving along on long stretches of road, I very frequently blow past my turns no matter how much I think that I am paying attention…the imagination takes over and my thoughts travel so fast and furious…I can hardly keep up.
Visiting three Great Lakes in one clump has certainly been much fuel for the imagination fire. The sheer beauty, depth and vastness of these bodies of water leaves so much to linger and dwell upon. I’m happy to stare at lake views and gradations in water color for hours on end. I am lucky that the kids also find these things so enjoyable…until they find something to squabble about. Luckily, there has been a lake near to throw them into when the attitudes flare up :)
So, returning to my ten things mantra…here is my Great Lakes Gratitude List…bucket list trips (check), tired kids, sandy feet (I’m not really thankful for the sand, just the beach it came from), waterfalls, beautiful rocks, funky trees, tween snuggles, Sanders Chocolate Fudge Bumpy Cake (https://cakes.sanderscandy.com), finishing a book that is inspirational (‘Bicycling With Butterflies’ by Sara Dykman), and lots of milkweed spotting!
And now, I’m going to be vacation lazy, turn off the computer and go back to sleep! Happy dreaming the summer boredom away!