What do you do?

Someone asked me last night what we do at the lake in the winter. That's a good question. Going to the lake in the winter is probably my favorite part of winter in Minnesota. There are not that many people around. The lake is silently frozen. The air crisp. And frankly, we don't do anything significant. We hang out as a family, eat, snuggle in front of the fire, read, take walks and naps. The lake in the winter is a wonderful escape from our very busy lives precisely because there isn't much to do or much that needs to be done. I am not doing laundry, something for the kids school or grocery shopping. The long list of what I am not doing is exactly what makes these weekend trips so utterly important for our family. We are just being together....that's it. My favorite thing to do at the lake more than any other thing is to go for a walk down the long woodsy road that surrounds our precious lake. It is my favorite thing to do in the summer too but for different reasons.

Our winter walks seem to bring us together in a way that few other things do. Maybe it's because I love to walk in the woods. It speaks to something ancient in my soul. And I love to see my children experience the simple joys in life. These moments are moments that we just talk about stuff without the distractions of life. Sometimes we are quietly side by side. Sometimes we are causing a playful ruckus that probably startles almost any living thing around us. On this walk my 5 year old daughter was taking most of the photos. It was so much fun to load these on the computer last night to see what she had captured. I have to say, I am having a little bit of parental pride as I think she captured it perfectly.