An Afternoon at the Lake

"A lake is the landscapes most beautiful and expressive feature. It is earth's eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature." -Henry David Thoreau

A highlight of girls' camp every year is the chance to take the canoes out on the lake. The persistent winds kept us from enjoying the lake last year, but this year, we were scheduled for the waterfront on a most warm and peaceful afternoon.

Sabrina vehemently refused to go out on the water. My prodding only pushed her to the point of fury, so I relented. She gets her timidity for water from yours truly. Every year, I insist on enjoying the lake comfortably from the shore, so that I can "take photos", I always profess. The truth of the matter is, I don't swim. And bodies of water where the bottom cannot be seen frighten me, as do bodies of water that carry wildlife of all sorts. This particular body of water carries wildlife of the leech variety, which makes an accidental dip in the water even more scary.

But there was something about the very pleasantness of this afternoon, watching all of the girls glide across the water, giggling as they paddled, that made me put all fear aside and long to hop in a canoe. I asked Jessica if she would go with me. She jumped at the notion.

I made sure my life jacket was on good and tight, then the stake president helped me lower myself into the less-than-sturdy vessel. I asked him if perhaps there was a seat belt of some sort. He assured me that I did not want to be fastened into a canoe. The ridiculousness of such a question had not occurred to me until then.

Jessica did the steering, and we had a delightful time, gliding across that smooth lake. Paddling the canoe was invigorating. Jessica had stopped her canoe in the middle of the lake the afternoon before and had spent some time reading her scriptures. I could see that that would have been very peaceful and was wishing I had an open schedule and a good book with me at the time. But alas, there were more activities to enjoy, and we made our way back to the dock.

There was just enough time for a little leech hunting, a favorite pastime of our dear little beehives. President Thompson fished a nice fat juicy one out of the lake, a specimen they most enjoyed playing with.

The adventure ended with four brave little beehives diving into the chilly lake, with the bishop to follow. It was a delightful afternoon!