I’ve been AWOL of late – and for that I apologize. Depression and grief took hold for a while, and then things got really busy for a while, and then I felt so guilty about not writing that I couldn’t write. It’s a vicious circle. I decided today, though, that I should write something and put it out there. So here goes.
At this very moment, I have the good luck to be sitting beside a large picture window at my family’s cottage in central Ontario. I’m finishing up work for the day and then will be jumping in the lake and helping with some chores that need to be done. Anyone who says a cottage is a place to go and relax probably doesn’t own one. When you own a cottage it’s a lot of work. Something is always breaking or needing to be fixed. There’s never a shortage of work to do – whether it’s cutting wood, pulling tiny trees off the septic bed (before they take root and damage the system), or staining one of the many wooden structures, our cottage is full of projects to be done. Our old workhorse of a fishing boat has decided that it really doesn’t want to run this summer which is causing dad a lot of grief as he tried every solution google has to offer to no avail. (Interestingly, there’s no way to get a boat mechanic to look at a boat in season without spending a small fortune, so dad’s trying the DIY methods first.)
None of this is said in complaint though, I know how lucky I am to have been able to grow up with a family cottage. Even when I’m grumpy about having spent 4+ hours on the 2.25 hour drive up here, I realize how many people would love to be able to sit in the cottage weekend traffic heading up to a piece of heaven on earth. There are a lot of memories here – some good, some bad. I have been coming to the cottage since I was born, and having a summer birthday meant that more often than not, there were celebrations at the cottage for my birthday. The fact that we had a cottage was one of the reasons my parents were so adamant about swimming lessons – a cottage with a beach entry is not safe for non swimmers. Actually, no cottage is really safe for non swimmers unless they’re wearing a life jacket whenever they’re outside – so I took swimming lessons from the time I was a baby until I was in my mid teens. I am very aware of just how lucky I am to have been born into a family that was able to buy a cottage and let me enjoy it. My grandfather built the cottage and at first my dad and his siblings shared use of it with him, but then there came a time when my grandfather didn’t want the hassles of cottage ownership anymore. My parents bought the cottage from my grandfather and since then, we’ve been able to use it whenever we wanted – which ranges from a few weeks and random weekends here and there to times where we’ve spent the better part of the summer up here.
Which brings me to today’s Word Wednesday word – fortunate. I’m truly fortunate to have the ability to inhabit this slice of paradise. When I get frustrated about something else breaking down, a splinter in my foot, or the boats going around in circles, I need to take a step back and remind myself of how truly fortunate I am. Fortunate comes from the Latin word Fortunatus which is derived from Fortuna – the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman mythology.
Fortunate (for·tu·nate) Adjective
1. Favoured by or involving good luck or fortune; lucky.
2. Auspicious or favourable.
3. Materially well-off; prosperous.
This is a really wonderful post and it was a terrific and timely choice, too!
I really do enjoy Word Wednesdays – even if they are not every single Wednesday – because stopping for a minute to read something new or being reminded to take a deep breath and be thankful for what I have is always a good thing.
Thanks for giving me pause. I appreciate it.
I am fortunate to know you. 🙂