As soon as I took the last exam for my summer semester, I drove my well-packed vehicle north into the mountains. While my recent return to school has been better than what I anticipated, life lately has still been ridiculously busy. By the end of finals, I knew I would be due for life away from computer screens so I coordinated time off from work with time off from school and made the 6+ hour drive to New York’s Adirondack Park.
My extended family has an annual summer tradition of descending on the North Woods. As each of us winds our way down one of my favorite wooded paths to the designated campsites we will call home for the next week, a regression occurs. The past weaves in and out with the present and we all fall back into the familiar rhythms of lovingly harassing one another through the routine of sleep, eat, play, repeat. The sheer number of bug bites and bruises on my body attest to this undeniable fact about family vacations.
Time has a funny way of nonlinearity when family traditions are involved. We run and scamper, and poke and prod, and tease and tangle our way back into the familiarity of unchanging relationships. I am yours and you are mine and I will love you until the end of time. Isn't that the rhyming vow of all families? Sure the attendance may vary a bit from year to year as relationships begin and turn into marriages, extraneous commitments take precedence, and the traveling to a place where there is no longer a living family member at times seem a bit too much to bear.
But even with the hubbub and the schlepping and the rigmarole of it all, this yearly ritual is an utmost necessity. We play games both old and new, tell mostly true stories, and go on the most epic of adventures. We stay up late, endearing ourselves to our neighbors with our deafening laughter well past the quiet hours curfew. We sneak out onto the lake in the middle of the night for just one more glimpse of the Milky Way and maybe even just one more shooting star.
This tradition did not begin with my generation but I will do everything in my power to ensure that it sticks around for the next one. There is something undeniably magically about intentionally gathering together year after year in this little piece of the woods we claim as our own. Something that I hope to experience with this family of mine for a very long time.
notes:
- there are many places to lay claim to in new york’s adirondack park, including public and private campgrounds. we stay near tupper lake as per tradition and fortunately it is also an ideal locale since it provides easy access to the tri-lakes area for a variety of hiking/paddling opportunities as well as rainy day adventures.
- related to the above note: if you happen to be in the area and looking for mild outdoorsy/rainy day activities check out the wild center or the lake placid olympic sites. we checked out the ski jumps which host extreme summer tubing during the latter half of the week. sadly, we visited on a tuesday but fear not; we have big plans in place for next year.
- my big brother got engaged to one of my favorite people while we were camping. krissy has been a voting member of the family for many years but i am ridiculously excited for them to make it all official. obviously my excitement is not real unless i announce it onthe interwebs. obviously.