Monday, September 27, 2010

Part 1 2 3

Part 1
My family has this camp on Flanders pond. To me it’s a beautiful place. My parents and I tore down an old building back in like 1987 to build this camp. I remember working very hard. Going home and taking a shower because I was so itchy from the insulation that I had pulled off all the walls.
Once we had all of our supplies we started building. It took all summer to get it done. Every day off my dad had we would head right over to get it done. I always had a hammer in my hand and it seemed like I built half the camp. I am sure this really wasn’t the case as I was only 11 years old. I think my parents just gave me things to do to keep me busy and make me feel like I was doing a lot.
The camp was small and made of 2x4’s and chip board. It had an open kitchen and living room. There were two small bedrooms on the back side. They had no doors only curtains. There was an upstairs loft that never got finished and my dad always dreamed of the inside being knotty pine.
The kitchen had an old stove and fridge. It had cupboards and a sink that didn’t work. We had electricity but no running water. There was an outhouse out back, but to us it was great.
Once we got it done we all spent the night there. My parents made my sisters take time off from their summer jobs. We always had fun. We would have bacon and eggs for breakfast, which always tasted so much better at camp. We would all cram into the canoe for an early morning fishing trip, we rarely ever caught anything. Then back for lunch. After lunch we swam the rest of the day. After dinner we would all stay back at camp and go to bed early, as soon as it was dark.
I still try to go to camp a few times a year. It’s different over there now. It’s built up around us and the camp is falling down, but it still holds a special place in my heart, and I am still proud that I helped build it!

Part 2
My family has this camp on Flanders pond. To me it’s a beautiful place. My parents and I tore down an old building back in like 1987 to build this camp. I remember working very hard. Going home and taking a shower because I was so itchy from the insulation that I had pulled off all the walls. It was a rewarding exsperience and I gained a lot of self pride in doing this project.
Once we had all of our supplies we started building. It took all summer to get it done. Every day off my dad had we would head right over to get it done. I always had a hammer in my hand and it seemed like I built half the camp. I am sure this really wasn’t the case as I was only 11 years old. I think my parents just gave me things to do to keep me busy and make me feel like I was doing a lot. This is great parenting skills in my opinion, though I may not have thought so then.
The camp was small put home like. It had an open kitchen and living room. There were two small bedrooms on the back side. There was an upstairs loft that got finished over time. It turned it to a nice large bedroom for my parents to have some privacy.
The kitchen had an old stove and fridge. It had cupboards and a sink that was hooked up to the pond to use only for dishes and cooking if we boiled it. We had electricity and a small bathroom with only a sink and a toilet.
Once we got it done we all spent a week there. My parents made my sisters take time off from their summer jobs. We always had fun. We would have bacon and eggs for breakfast one day and pancake or French toast another, which always tasted so much better at camp. We rarely had cereal which was what we always had at home. We would all gather in the aluminum boat for an early morning fishing trip. One day I caught a 15 inch bass and I was very excited. Then back for lunch. After lunch we swam the rest of the day. We had lots of floats and water toys to share and fight ver. After dinner we would all stay back at camp and go to bed early, as soon as it was dark.
I still try to go to camp a few times a year. It’s different over there now. It’s built up around us and the camp needs a lot of work, but it still holds a special place in my heart, and I am still proud that I helped build it!

Part 3
My family has this summer home on the ocean in Maine. My parents had it built by this up and coming company who had specials on camps to get more business. It came out beautiful.
Everyday my parents and I would pack a picnic and go and watch the crew. My dad would help out where ever he could. My father was a very hardworking man who couldn’t sit still.
The camp was nice and made of knotty pine inside. It had an open kitchen and living room. There were two small bedrooms on the back side. There was an upstairs loft that had a beautiful bedroom for my parents. They even had their own bathroom and little deck.
The kitchen was quant and pretty. It had an old fashion cooking/ wood stove and fridge. It had white cupboards and a sink that had the best tasting well water I had ever drunk. We had electricity with dim romantic lighting throughout the camp. I always thought it was to save money but later I found that it was to give the camp a warm feeling. The bathroom had an old fashion deep tub that I loved to play in on rainy days that we couldn’t go swimming.
Once they got it done, we all spent every summer there. My parents made my sisters take time off from their jobs. We always had fun. We would have bacon and eggs for breakfast, which always tasted so much better at camp. My mom would stand there for what seemed like an hour squeezing oranges to give us the best orange juice in the world.
After breakfast was all cleaned up we would all jump in the motor boat for an early morning fishing trip. We wouldn’t come in until we had caught some thing for lunch. After lunch we swam the rest of the day. After dinner we would all stay back at camp, play cards and board games and go to bed early, as soon as it was dark.
I still try to go to camp a few times a year. It’s different over there now. It’s built up around us and the camp needs a new coat of paint, but it still holds a special place in my heart, and I enjoy taking my kids there as well.

2 comments:

  1. I like that 15 inch bass!

    And I really like the progression from that plain old 2x4 chipboard-&-outhouse camp to that mansion by the sea. You do a nice job adding, extending, pushing the envelope of memory and playing with the truth and the facts.

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