Cousins' Camp

For a number of years, my sisters, their two children (girl and boy each), our mother, my middle sister's mother-in-law and sister-in-law and her two children (boy and girl) and I used to spend a week together at the mother-in-law's cabin on a lake in the woods in northwestern Maine. This started way back when the children were in grade school and lasted until three summers ago when the older children started touring with orchestras (they are all musicians) and going to music camps and (last summer) going off to college. We called it Cousins' Camp and for those 7 or 8 years it was a joyfully anticipated and relished experience for the moms, grandmothers, aunts and kids. Husbands and fathers joined us on the book-ending weekends, but for the week, it was jut us women and kids. What fun!

Each year we had a theme: Americana, Scandanavia (my family is Norwegian, the in-laws are Swedish), Outdoors, Boating/Water, Native American, Art, etc. We had books, crafts and music related to the theme. Each day we walked, rode bikes, went boating on the lake. At the end of the week, when the dads/husbands came, we'd have a program, with the kids displaying the things they had made and performing the music they had learned. It was such a peaceful, happy time. The grown ups are all sad that those days are behind us. The kids don't admit to it, but I think they miss the time too.

The cabin is still there, though, as it belongs to my sister and her in-laws. We go when we can, and often the whole group is there together. But usually there are others, and we don't have the planned activities the way we used to. At least we still have the memories...and the sunsets...

Photos: The painting I did the year we painted seascapes (2002 or 03, I think).

Sunset over Mooselookmeguntic (one of the most beautiful places for sunsets I've ever seen).

Three of the six cousins playing cello at a family gathering at the cabin last summer.