Friday, July 3, 2015

The Lake. Retirement.

We first came to Lake Medora five years ago at the invitation of our great friends Cindy and Dickie Selfe.  Cindy and Dickie used to teach at Michigan Tech, but when they left to work at Ohio State, they kept their summer lakeside "camp," which they owned with Jill Burkland and Randy Freisinger.

I immediately fell in love with Lake Medora and their house.  When we left Louisville it was miserably hot, and the first thing I did was ask if I could have a swim.  That night we slept under blankets in a room with window fans.

I love lakes for many reasons.  One reason is that you can really swim in them.  I am not a strong enough swimmer to swim way out in the ocean.  And I don't like swimming in a pool, because you have to keep turning around.  But in a lake I can swim almost indefinitely--sort of like walking.  I do a lazy breast stroke, and if I were ever to get too tired I would just turn over and float.  I also like lakes because most of the ones I have visited as an adult are northern.  The weather at Lake Medora is so easy.  Here it is almost the fourth of July and we are still sleeping under blankets.  (This would not have been true of Lake Marion.). And I love lakes because, as the previous post relates, they are connected to my childhood.

Cindy and Dickie invited us up the next summer, and there was a beautiful little house for sale just across the lake from them. As soon as we walked into the house, we instantly knew we wanted to buy it.



Our house at Lake Medora is perfect for us.  It is small and compact, consisting of a great room, two bedrooms, a bathroom and a loft.



We have a lawn that sweeps to the lake and three lovely established gardens.  We are secluded, on a private dirt road surrounded by trees.




I love Lake Medora because I can swim. The Keweenaw where are located is surrounded by Lake Superior, which is beautiful but very cold and basically unswimmable.



Lake Medora, on the contrary, is an inland lake, not very deep and warm enough to swim in from June to October.


Me, swimmming across the lake.

At the lake I live in a beautiful compact house.  I have an outdoor life--walking, gardening, sitting outside in the hammock and reading.  I have friends who I knew before we retired--mainly people at Michigan Tech I met during a sabbatical semester in 2001 who have over the year become important friends.  Here, I spend a lot of time reading and working on various projects (subjects of future posts).  I cook most nights (something I dislike at home but, by necessity, enjoy here).  And because sometimes you just need a little more narrative in your life, Tony and I watch TV series on DVD in the evening.  We favor British mysteries and period dramas, etc.

I am honestly not sure I could have retired (or retired happily) if it weren't for the lake.  The lake gives me a respite from Louisville heat and Louisville routines.  It provides a different way of living.  My days have a very different rhythm, and Tony and I have an almost different relationship when we are here: more rooted in being together day-to-day.

Sunset over Lake Superior


1 comment :