Many of the memories that I write about will probably center around my mom. I still miss her each and every day and many of my daily thoughts revolve around memories of her.
Today I was thinking about Christmas, 8 years ago, when our immediate family surprised her with having the holidays at her favorite spot – a little cabin in Up North, Michigan.
Small & Cozy
My grandpa and his brother-in-law built the cabin when my mom was a little girl. It’s basically a 500 sq. foot box, with two small bedrooms on the left side, and the main room on the right. Mom loved the memories she had when she was little and her, her siblings, and her cousins would come up and spend time there. It would have been packed with people, because space was limited. I think that was one of the things she liked the most about it.
Outdoor Water…
One of the other enduring qualities about the cabin, depending on your point of view, is that it does not have any indoor water. When visiting, we would have to pump water from the water pump behind the cabin, then bring it into the house and heat it on the electric stove. It made washing dishes take a little bit longer. Also, washing your hair under the pump, while someone else moved the pump up and down, was a ‘refreshing’ experience.
Mom and Dad did section off a small corner of the main room for a bathroom about 10 years ago. There’s a toilet that we flush using a pail of water. When you empty the pail, it’s your turn to go and fill it up.
What I remember most about the Christmas spent Up North at Mom’s cabin, is just that she smiled nonstop. I have a couple of videos of all of us, her kids and grandkids, gathered around in the little living room opening presents. Wrapping paper was thrown all over the floor and the children were taking toys out of boxes. The whole time, mom sat in the corner smiling and just making sure that everyone was having fun. It wasn’t spacious. It wasn’t a resort, or anything like that. It was perfect.
Goals for Today:
- Watch TV with the family
- Work outside, trimming in the yard
- Clean the Dining Room