Though I hadn’t classified this trip in my mind as a family reunion, I’m pretty sure it fits the bill: 30+ extended family members, a scenic lakeside location, a century-old house, and matching tees, to boot :)
Our last visit to John’s extended-family cottage in Northern Michigan was in 2017, when June was 1.5. This year’s trip was delayed three times over (in 2019 because both of John’s sisters gave birth, and in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID), so we were beyond thrilled to finally return. I would love to share a few photos, if you’d like to see! I also have a few thoughts to share on why this trip felt so removed from everyday life, and in that way, refreshing – because if I notice something, it’s hard for me to resist digging down into the roots to figure out what’s going on :)
The first layer of novelty that set our time in Michigan apart – and made this vacation feel especially refreshing – was physical. The weather, of course, was delightfully different than North Carolina in July: a crisp, sunny, 75 degrees during the day and a hint of chill at dinner, with almost no humidity in sight. I got to wear a sweatshirt! Almost every evening!
Because of the mild temperatures, we enjoyed true indoor/outdoor living, something I miss dearly about New England summers. We were in and out of the houses a million times a day and the windows and screen doors were open at all times. When inside, outside sounds floated in: children laughing, the slap of the bags hitting the cornhole board, the buzz of a boat on the lake. And the reverse when outside: pans rattling on the stove, the murmur of adults talking, and the gentle suck of the refrigerator door opening. I love living this way, but North Carolina’s 90+ summertime temps make air conditioning and closed windows a necessity.
The last physical layer? We move a LOT more in Michigan than I do in my everyday life. We walked the road between cottages multiple times a day. We ran and jumped in the sand dunes. We swam. We kayaked, we canoed, we paddle boarded. We tubed. We knee-boarded. We went to bed tired and with a gentle ache somewhere in our bodies pretty much every night.
And finally, of course, Northern Michigan is just incredibly physically beautiful: striking blues and greens everywhere you look.
The second novel layer is our schedule. The sun doesn’t fully set until 10pm, so the days seem to stretch and stretch. Unlike at home, where my time is pre-scheduled, regimented, and fairly routine, the days here unspool with languor. Our schedule is loose, and I’m largely not in charge of it – I’m often only vaguely aware of what’s going to happen next. Go on the boat? Sure! Take a detour to the lighthouse? Sure! S’mores at the big house? Sure! The kids play for hours at a time under their own steam, dashing past just often enough for us to confirm they’re still on their feet.
The third layer is relational. Here, we spend more time together as a family than we do in our everyday life, where we split off to school and work during the week. More than that, though, we’re surrounded by extended family in Michigan. There are aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins galore. There’s always someone to play with or have a conversation with or go on a paddle board with, and there’s an easy sharing of the weight of cooking, kid-minding, and logistics that falls on just John and I when we’re at home.
June bonded tightly with one of her cousins who was born just five weeks after her (remember, they last saw each other at a year and a half!). One of the sweetest parts, though? Seeing the big cousins hang with the little cousins. There are several high schoolers in our group, and they were unbelievably kind, patient, and goofy with our kids: reading to them, tubing with them, and allowing them to chase them around the house with badminton rackets (this happened multiple times a day, accompanied by shrieks of delight).
The final layer is historical. Since John and I didn’t grow up in North Carolina, our surroundings don’t conjure childhood memories. There’s something particularly powerful and sweet about seeing your children experience things you loved when you were young in the exact same place, even (especially?) when they’re different from the everyday.
Take this crazy flipping maneuver on the right. Apparently this is a longstanding Thomas tradition – my husband and his sisters remember doing it when they were young. The kids run at full tilt into a grown-up’s feet, get flipped over the adult’s head in a full pike position, and land on their feet. It is as astonishing and hilarious as it sounds, and the kids could not get enough.
From hiking Sleeping Bear Dunes to eating at the A&W to simply sitting on plastic Adirondack chairs, watching a lake day slide by, I’ll take nostalgia and relationship over extravagance most days of the week.
And that’s pretty much where we ended up. This vacation is about as far from glamorous as it gets, and family time can be messy and frustrating, but it is beyond precious to us. We feel so incredibly lucky to get to take our kids here – to have them experience the natural beauty, the laidback fun, and the relationships with people we love – that the siblings all vowed Michigan will be an every-other-year adventure for the foreseeable future. There are a million destinations I’d love to see in the world, but I know I’ll never regret prioritizing this one at this time.
P.S. Annie celebrated her first birthday on this trip! She did it in true Michigan style: digging into a cherry pie serenaded by a circle of smiling relatives.
The celebrations were not without incident, as a certain sibling leaned on her high chair tray and knocked it loose, causing the pie to crash to the ground…
… but thankfully, we had about 547 pies to feed our crew, so the birthday girl still got her happy ending :)
Our Michigan vacation was a very welcome respite in the midst of July’s crazy. We spent a week at John’s family’s rustic cottage on a small lake near Traverse City, and it felt like a very classic summer vacation: we cooked big meals, we waterskiied and paddleboarded and kayaked, we drank root beer floats, we watched the cousins dig in the sandbox, we played badminton and cards, and we watched the sun set over the water while roasting marshmallows. This is the kind of stuff I live for, and I wanted to share a few photos, if you’d like to see!
Is that not the life?! Much of our time was spent lounging in those Adirondack chairs, reading, chatting, and then walking the few steps to the lake when we got too hot.
By far the best part of this trip was the people. We were gathered with about 28 extended family members, including all of John’s siblings, spouses, and their kids. We are spread out around the country, which is sad, because we love spending time together!! It was a treat to all be in the same place.
We ate dinner perched on the porch steps, looking out at the lake, almost every night. June was a big fan of the setup.
We stuck pretty close to the cottage most of the time, but did make a few trips out for ice cream, lunch at the A&W, and climbing the Sleeping Bear Dunes.
I’ll leave you with perhaps my favorite photo from the trip, snapped mid-run through the towels on the line. Are those faces not pure, unadulterated JOY?
Happy summer, friends!
All photos by me, John, and my talented siblings :)
John and I just got back from our first big trip of the summer – a week in Northern Michigan!
His family shares a cottage on the shore of a small lake near Lake Michigan. The accommodations are rustic, but that’s okay, because the surroundings are spectacular.
We didn’t spend much time inside at all, actually. The beautiful weather turned this past week into one of my most active in the last few years: we biked, hiked, climbed dunes, jumped off dunes, ran down dunes, waterskiied, knee boarded, kayaked, played tennis, swam… my muscles were feeling it by the end of the week!!
We did make time to visit a few favorites: Cherry Republic (they carry their theme to perfection!), the Sleeping Bear Dunes, Frankfort, Inspiration Point, and Riverside, among others.
We also had a campfire (and s’mores!) every night, and saw some jaw-dropping sunsets while doing so. One night, we even saw a smoldering sunset in one direction, and a double rainbow in the other! Amazing!
My 2023 reading list, the fourth iteration of this experiment, was a smashing success.
I finished 20 of the 24, chose to DNF two others, and have purchased one of the remaining two to read as soon as it works its way to the top of my book stack. This made it (by far) the list I came closest to completing perfectly, and I think it was because I was ruthless in weeding out books I felt I was supposed to read, and instead made sure every book was one I couldn’t wait to read.
I’ve gone over and over my 2024 list – adding and subtracting titles for weeks – in order to assemble an equally-enticing plan for the year ahead. I think I’d done it, and would love to have you join me in reading anything below that strikes your fancy!
(If you’re new, this is the very lowest-key of book clubs: I consider it a delightful exercise in thoughtfully planning my reading a year at a time (12 fiction, 12 non-fiction), and though I’m often at the whim of my library holds, it’s helpful to always know where to turn when I’m ready for a new book!)
Without further ado…
Affiliate links are used in this post!
January: The Armor of Light | This newest installment of the beloved Kingsbridge series came up in my library holds at the end of the year, so it was an easy first pick for this list! If you love sweeping epics and memorable characters that you can luxuriate in (Armor of Light is 700+ pages), this series is for you. The Great Dechurching | John and I are leading a book study on this at church starting this month. It’s a thoughtful look at why we’ve seen the biggest historical shift in church attendance ever over the last 40 years – and what can be done to bring people back with love and care.
February: To Say Nothing of the Dog | I’ll be reading this along with the Everyday Reading book club. “Ned is a professional time traveler but he’s so overworked that his boss finally sends him to the Victorian era to hide out and get some much needed rest. Naturally, very little resting goes on and instead time travel goes wild.” How to Know a Person | I admire and am grateful for David Brooks and have read several of his books. This is his newest one, “a practical, heartfelt guide to the art of truly knowing another person in order to foster deeper connections at home, at work, and throughout our lives.”
March: Go As a River | When Stephanie tells me a book is her favorite from the year, it goes on my list. The Reason for God | I knew I wanted to put one of Tim Keller’s books on my list in light of his passing last year. This is arguably his most well-known, and one I haven’t yet read.
April: Flying Solo | I enjoyed Linda Holmes’ first novel – a charming and spunky love story set in my beloved Maine – when I read it a few years, and her second sounds similar. The Anxious Generation | We have pre-ordered three copies of this book – partly as a miscommunication between John and me, but mostly because we know it will be prescient and important and we’ll want to loan it out to anyone who will read it. If you appreciate all the work Jon Haidt does in the realms of adolescent mental health, political polarization, freedom of speech and inquiry, play-based childhoods and more, you’ll want to put this one on your list, too.
May: The Mystery Guest | This is a follow-up to The Maid, one of my favorite books from 2023! Die With Zero | This book, another one of Janssen’s picks, sounds tailor-made for me: “Die with Zero presents a … guide on how to get the most out of your money—and out of your life. It’s intended for those who place lifelong memorable experiences far ahead of simply making and accumulating money for one’s so-called ‘golden years.'”
June: Killers of a Certain Age| My friend Pressley recommended this to me based on my love for The Maid! Everything Sad Is Untrue | And this middle grade/YA book was one of my friend Bethany’s favorites from last year. It’s good to have reader friends :)
July: Tom Lake | Ann Patchett’s newest novel is set in Northern Michigan, which makes it the perfect pick for July, when we’ll be visiting family and our beloved cottage there. My friend group has given this one mixed reviews, but I loved The Dutch House and so am willing to give it a go! All Thirteen | A YA non-fiction account of the rescue of the Thai boys’ soccer team from a few years ago, this another pick from the Everyday Reading book club. I may read it aloud to June and Shep!
August: Tress of the Emerald Sea | Brandon Sanderson is a fascinating and prolific figure in publishing, but I’ve never read any of his work. This book, which was written and published as part of the #1 Kickstarter campaign of all time, is described as a “rollicking, riveting tale―a standalone adventure perfect for fans of The Princess Bride.” Yes, please. The Boys in the Boat | This true story of nine Americans and their “epic quest for gold” at the 1936 Berlin Olympics will coincide perfectly with the 2024 Paris Olympics! And then I can watch the movie, which I hear is excellent.
September: Rebecca | We did a “favorite things” exchange for Christmas at work, and I received a copy of this novel. The giver said it was her all-time favorite classic, and on a team of writers, that’s high praise! When Breath Becomes Air | This book, which came out in 2016, has been on my radar since before it was published. Still, it never made it onto my bedside table, because I didn’t think I’d be able to get through it (The Year of Magical Thinking nearly did me in). It’s time. I’m sure I will cry buckets of tears but will also come out on the other side in awe anew of life and love.
October: Her Fearful Symmetry | Erin Napier says this oldish novel (2009) is one of her very favorites. It’s by the author of The Time Traveler’s Wife, which I loved, and set near a cemetery – the potential for slightly-spooky vibes seemed perfect for Halloween month. Empire of Pain | I debated whether to put Demon Copperhead on this list, which is a hefty and polarizing read in my circle of friends, but ultimately chose this adjacent non-fiction account of the Sackler family, who made and marketed the painkiller that was the catalyst for the opioid crisis. (I’m sorry, Kelly!)
November: Delicious! | I’ve read and loved all of food critic and magazine editor Ruth Reichl’s memoirs, and have heard this novel by her is equally as good! Raising Passionate Jesus Followers | This book is written by John Mark Comer’s parents. While there are a lot of books about raising children in the Christian faith, this is a unique opportunity to hear from the parents of someone who has impacted my faith.
December: Little Women | Readers were shocked when I admitted to never reading this classic; one of you chimed in that the week between Christmas and New Year’s is the perfect time to read it. I’m going for it! (Never seen any of the movies, either!) The Power of Moments | A final pick with the Everyday Reading book club, though this one has been recommended by several other sources, too. It explores why “certain brief experiences can jolt us and elevate us and change us—and how we can learn to create such extraordinary moments in our life and work.”
Honorable mentions I’m hoping to squeeze in, as well:The Measure; Don’t Think, Dear; Belgravia; The Paris Agent; Confronting Christianity; There Are No Grown-Ups; Nora Goes Off Script, and Happier Hour.
I’d love to hear: Have you read any of these books? Would you like to read any alongside me in 2024? Let’s chat!
