We had to step away from the annual Lake Powell group this summer and it was one of the harder decisions we’ve had to make and it didn’t come lightly. But we didn’t want to step away from the relationships. So we doubled down on fostering our long-distance relationships.
At the beginning of the year, we were up in Park City for a long weekend of skiing with these friends and it was there that we made the plans to gather this summer at our friend’s lake house. We’ve been there a few times over the last couple of years and it is an absolute dream.
You can imagine our disappointment when it was cancelled due to a personal conflict for our friends who were hosting. We were bummed, but it was out of our control, so we made new plans and moved on. And then just 7 days before our scheduled weekend, we got a text that the trip was back on and we were quick to change plans again!
The weekend was better than we could have imagined. It seems like when we go to Powell, it always takes some time for the kids to warm up to the group again (most of them live close to each other and they’re still raising their kids side-by-side), its like cousins who see each other once a year. But the warm-up period was short and within an hour of the group arriving, they were already bonding over the Secret Hitler board game.
They spent the day on the lake; surfing, tubing, foiling, jumping…there wasn’t time to be bored. And we got to sit at the table and talk about life. And parenting. And dreams and ideas. There’s a reason why we bonded together so many years ago.
The weekend couldn’t have gone better. After two nights, Steve and I lay in bed marveling – it was everything we had hoped for. The lake and weather were beautiful. The kids hung out and had a great time. they built relationships and we were able to connect with our friends; it was all we hoped for. It wasn’t Lake Powell, but it was a great substitute this summer.
And it was a pretty great backdrop for the final game of the World Cup!
