Cabin time is family time, and it’s when everyone is at their glorious, crazy best. The kids’ hair is a mess. They’ve been in their bathing suits longer than you’ve been awake. “Lunch” is nothing more than eating whole cucumbers as they run from the cabin to the lake and back. The carbs come from sneaking a couple chips here and there from the grown-ups and maybe a hastily thrown-together ham sandwich.
One of the kids drops a half-eaten cucumber on a nearby chair before executing a flawless cannonball into the lake. The other tries to organize an Olympic diving competition so they can show off their soon-to-be-famous belly flop. It gets a silver medal!
And there you two are. On the deck with great company, keeping one eye on the action down by the water with the other eye on that beautiful partner of yours. You saw the belly flop down by the water and thought the judging was maybe a little too generous. It was bronze, at best. But oh well, you let it slide because your husband just caught your eye again.
You smile at each other and hold each other’s gaze for just a second. It’s a peaceful moment amidst the chaos. It’s a moment that helps you remember that this is the life you built together. This is your deck, at your cabin. These are your friends and your family.
Later, as the sun sets and the kids take the party inside the cabin, you two slip out and sit by the water for a quiet moment together. Maybe you talk, maybe you don’t. At this point, you don’t have to. There’s an ease between you two that’s unmistakeable. You just soak in the silence and joy of the lives you’ve built together.
All of this means a lot to you, and you protect it all. You’re a weekend warrior, but this weekend – one of the last ones of the summer – you soak in the brief moments of peace between the endless energy of those kids. They’re weekend warriors in training and they’re showing no signs of slowing.
