11 October 2022
It was so, so, so good to be back at the Island this summer. It always is, but after missing a visit in 2021 (my first ever, due to Annie’s summer birthday), our time up north was even sweeter than usual. Just like a childhood best friend, we picked up right where we left off. Even better? We followed our week in Maine with a week in Connecticut, staying with John’s parents! Readers who have been around for awhile know that the pattern of these visits doesn’t change much from year to year — we take lots of walks, play lots of games, read lots of books, spend time with some of our favorite people — but the beauty and goodness of our surroundings is fresh every year. Here are a few snaps from this trip, if you’d like to see! That first lungful of salty breeze and that first morning wake up on-island… nothing like it. One of my favorite moments of the trip came early on: I delivered my Sunday service the day after we arrived. A little background: each week during the summer season, a volunteer Islander leads the Sunday evening service. Though rooted in Christianity and still with many of the trappings of the faith (church bell, hymnals, etc.), each leader chooses the content of their service, and right now, most choose a secular message. While I love every iteration of these services (they are one of my favorite parts of Island life!) I knew I wanted to deliver a Gospel message that served as the aroma of Christ to those I got to address, and I spent much time preparing my service in the month leading up to our trip. Surprising absolutely no one who reads this blog, my message was about the power of
11 August 2020
In a year when so much has changed, when we find ourselves doing things, thinking things, and acting in ways we couldn’t have imagined a few months ago — what a gift to return to familiar ground. The Island has always been my “still point in a turning world,” but I was perhaps never so grateful to alight to it than I was this year – beautiful, peaceful, set-apart. Of course, not even a little remote island in Maine, reached only by boat, is immune to the coronavirus. As of this writing, it actually is free of the virus itself, but has been affected as everywhere else by stringent new rules, familiar faces missing, and the low-grade worry that attends any mixing of non-family members. Within our own cottage and family, we took a number of precautions before coming together – something we’d never given any thought to in the past. So yes, things were different this year – but most of the things we love and treasure were the same: the beautiful forests and fields and views, the slow pace, the time to be together, the time to deepen relationships with the ones we love, the time to read :) Longtime readers will be familiar with many of these views and faces, but it’s important to me to record them for my own memories. I hope they whisk you away for a bit of refreshment like they do for me! :) Hard to believe these photos were taken 10 minutes apart! Missing the napping member of the family! Sweet Shep took a digger on the sidewalk early in the week… as my Dad says, “that’s the price you pay for an active childhood.” :) Not every day you see a complete rainbow! So beautiful! Those views never get old
22 August 2019
Here’s the thing: it is as idyllic as it looks. It’s blue ocean as far as the eye can see, and blue sky as far as the eye can see, and salty-seaweedy air, and cool evenings, and eating blueberries off the bush, and cousins who love each other, and reading all afternoon, and charming shingled cottages with actual lobster buoys hanging on the side. And here’s something else, something I am becoming increasingly aware of with each passing year: these things don’t just happen, they are made to happen. This place, it takes people making budgets and writing by-laws and picking up brush in the sun and asking after each other’s children to keep humming along so beautifully. These family cottages, they take people agreeing on common rules and doing the dishes even though they’re on vacation and abiding alongside each other even when they couldn’t be more different. It’s easier to go it alone, but it’s not more beautiful. That kind of beauty is hard to show in photos, but somehow, it seems to be reflected in the scenery of our beloved island in Maine, and that I can show you… For those who are new: “the island” is a small community off the coast of Maine with 36 cottages and one truck. Two of those cottages belong to my Dad’s side of the family and my Mom’s side of the family (that’s how they met – both have been in their families for generations, and they grew up going to this place each summer, just like I have!). The one truck can be used to help move the big suitcases (and VERY excited kiddos), but everything else gets pushed and pulled in Gardenway carts. Good thing Pop Pop has lots of help :) Shep had to wait almost
31 July 2018
My love for both my family’s summer cottages in Maine and the book The Tech-Wise Family are by now well-documented, but it wasn’t until our most recent visit that I figured out the connection between the two. While in my everyday life, it can feel like a fight to implement the author’s Ten Tech-Wise Commandments*, in Maine, they are a natural way of life. That’s why our time there feels like such a breath of fresh air, and it’s just one of the many reasons why I’m so grateful for this beautiful place! Here are a few photos from our time up North this year, if you’d like to see! We made our first visit to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, and they were AMAZING! We hardly scratched the surface of what they have available for kiddos after several hours. Highly recommended!! Another highlight was a beach day on the Island with my grandma (June’s great grandma!). Such a treat to spend time with her!! Ahhhh… the best view in the world. Until next year, friends! *In case you’re wondering what the commandments are, here you are the ones most relevant for our time in Maine: 1. We develop wisdom and courage together as a family. 2. We want to create more than we consume, so we fill the center of our home with things that reward skill and active engagement. 3. We are designed for a rhythm of work and rest, so one hour a day, one day a week, and one week a year, we turn off our devices and worship, feast, play, and rest together. 4. We wake up before our devices do, and they “go to bed” before we do. 5. We aim for “no screens before double digits” at school and at home. 6. We