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Lake Laurentian: 46.458333N -80.933333W
Karen Hibbard via form
Winnipeg, Manitoba - May 3, 2011
Coordinates: 46.458333 -80.933333
Waypoints: The Laurentians in Sudbury. Roadside. Laurentian Lake. Suburbia. The University.
Summers swimming up near the University at Laurentian Lake, Sudbury, Ontario
My sisters and I would spend all summer walking between Laurentian Lake and our little suburban enclave where we lived as children. There were 4 of us. And we walked for a mile there and back, spending our day swimming in the sun. We didn't hurry along like we would now as adults. Of course you can't when you are just children, our bodies were still in development.
Walking along an isolated country road is something that children would not be allowed to do nowadays. There was nothing but bush. And drivers would race by from time to time, caught unawares that children were by the roadside. I was the oldest and always slightly worried about any trouble that could potentially appear.
We loved getting to the lake finally, dusty from the walk. If we were hungry, we'd fill up on blueberries and raspberries we saw peaking through the woods at us. Or we would vandalize the food machines at the University. Not that we were old enough to do any real damage besides maybe squeezing a sandwich out (if we were lucky). This is not really a story but more of a memory of a happy childhood spent independent of adults and as part of a sister gang with bonds that last to this day.
Now we are all grown up middle-aged women. Everyone is living in a different city. Some are single and others are married with children. There is very little time for communication and lots of worries about money and jobs and children. I have worries for the future — what will happen to our parents health-wise and how will we react as a unit? Will our sisterhood fall apart when our parents go? Are the bonds from our childhood really as strong as I imagine? Are they just valued memories for some of us?
Jumping in the lake as kids from a rock face seemed reckless but exciting. We knew the lake so well and had the good sense to investigate below the surface of the water beforehand. Free from all cares for that moment in time, we enjoyed each other's company and our natural surroundings. I would love to experience this innocent abandon again with my sisters. I hope our bonds will not be broken in our old age.
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