We arrived in Maine after 6 hours of road travel from Croton-on-the-Hudson, NY. It was mid-May and hardly a bud was visible on the trees. Our 3rd grade granddaughter Bailey was playing softball that night and her daddy Brett was coaching the team; off we went with Erin to make it a family affair. It was chilly enough to wear layers, but just warm enough for the first hatch of black flies to be out. Wally and I must not be too tasty because they barely gave us a passing glance… yay! Emily stayed home to work on her 6th grade math homework. Probably that was just as well. Earlier in May she allowed her head to be shaved after getting pledges of $500+ for childhood cancer research… quite a daring and thoughtful decision for her to make. Her exposed scalp might have been too tempting for most black flies to ignore.
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The Ellis family had school and work the next day, so we headed 70 miles NE to our cabin on a lake. Turning on the water is always a major moment… all hands on deck for drip patrol! The inside of the cabin was colder than the 45 degrees outside. We soon became the middlemen between the woodshed and the wood stove. The heat rising into the upper loft made that area feel very cozy quite quickly. It wasn’t long before we had visited with lake neighbors Lynn and Norman, Dierdre and Jeremy and Dave. It’s always good to get other people's perspective on winter, spring and the summer to come. My brother Kevin and Cheryl are enjoying their new home and Kevin’s new life in retirement. It was great to find them so relaxed and contented.
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After a week it was time to return to the Ellis home in Orono. We six all drove together to the Veterans Cemetery in Augusta. The June Savage Turner Campbell Peachey Memorial Service was held in a pavilion on the cemetery property. Fifty or so nieces, nephews and friends of her three children joined together to celebrate June’s 99 years of living. Wally’s brother Jason read an amazing poem that he had written since his mother had passed away in February. The delicious luncheon at the Augusta Country Club following the service was the result of Wally’s sister April’s careful planning. This reunion brought together family and friends who hadn’t seen each other in more than 20 years, in some cases. All in all, it was quite a send-off for a memorable woman!
By the time Erin and family joined us for Memorial Day Weekend, we had new IKEA comforters on the guest bunk room beds, porch swings on our decks, a boat with motor ready for Brett to tow the swim float into place, firewood prepped for an outdoor hotdog cookout, a hammock at the lakeside, the girls’ bikes and helmets ready for riding Windy Shores Road and a weekend crossword puzzle for the adults to work on. The big surprise for us was when Emily and Bailey went down to our new float and leaped into the 47 degree water! As Bailey and Emily scrambled up on the kayak that Erin had conveniently paddled nearby, Bailey squealed, “I think I’m getting pandamonia!” ( When you are swimming in a lake at that temperature, pneumonia can’t be far behind.)
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We didn’t want to join the traffic heading out of Maine on Memorial Day, so we waited until Tuesday. My Aunt Venessa was on our route back to the boat, so we had lunch with her at the Adult Activities Center. She celebrated her 100th birthday this month and was also named Citizen of the Year for Longmeadow, MA. When we arrived she was at her post, managing the Maple Tree Gift/Thrift Shop in the Adult Center. As you can see, longevity is found in both of our families.
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