midsummer & midlife, part two

So yesterday, after having my brows done, I bought this t-shirt that said ROAD TRIP from the sales rack of a department store in the neighbouring town. Though it was 100% cotton, it wasn't an ethically produced one or very long-lasting for that matter, which is what I aim for these days when shopping for my wardrobe, and that just goes to show how much I am longing for a road trip right now. I want to drive somewhere up north, sleep in tiny, cheap cabins or a camper van, go on hikes in cool weather, see snow-topped mountains and swim in ice cold water. I'm thinking of the island of Senja in my sleep sometimes. I'm certainly thinking of it awake. 

However, due to the fact that my designated driver switched jobs in January, downshifted I really should say, he lost his four weeks of summer vacation for this summer, and is only going to have a week and a half. While that would give us ample time for a road trip up north, we'll be driving in another direction entirely, to attend a friend's wedding in southern Finland, and go places there. It's not the road trip I was longing for, but it is a kind of a road trip, at least I'm going to call it that. In fact, given the circumstances and my eternal wish to be able to appreciate that which you have instead of living in & for your dreams, I've decided to call every trip we make this summer a road trip.

So, without further a do, I present onto you our traditional Midsummer road trip to the cabin by the lake! And quite fittingly, it appears I took most of the pictures in the car that day:

That might be because we had our hands full of things to do once there. Instead of spending the windy and thunderstormy day sitting on the dock, watching the waves splash against the dock, we actually laid the dock in the water, as we do every spring, this year being no exception apart from the fact that it was already Midsummer (we've had a busy spring). Here's a picture of the dock missing:

It was sunny and quite nice during the time we were working on getting the dock in the water, but as soon as we got it done and were sitting in the hot wood-burning cabin sauna, the weather changed its mind and went back to rainy and thundery. Our first effort of going swimming was put to an abrupt stop by the sound of a not-so-distant rumble and heavy rain that started falling the moment I dipped my toes in the lake. So we stayed in the sauna until there was a short spell of sunshine and the minute that happened we ran into the lake and then ran swiftly back because the water, in fact, was cold. Maybe not ice cold, but close enough for all my road trip dreams to come almost true.

After spending two hours in the lake and in the sauna, we were pretty hungry, so we made like all Finns make at Midsummer and had a barbecue. The light in the barbecue shed was fantastic, as were the views, so I took almost as many pictures as in the car. (Yes, it really started shining again once we gave up on swimming and quit the sauna.)

 The chicken was as icky as it looks, so that was the first and the last time we'll be buying chicken for the barbecue. But I consider us trying an adventure of sorts!

If you're wondering where our daughter was during this whole time, let me assure you she was safe and sound playing on the second floor of the cabin with her aunt and her cousin. We tried our best to get her to come and hang out with us, to no avail, except when it was dinner time and they were hoping to get candy for dessert. It really is a bittersweet time, being the mom of a ten-year-old; sweet when you watch them grow and gain independence and become themselves instead of being beings that attach to you as if they're an extension of you, almost like an additional limb, and it's so beautiful to watch, an identity being built and reformed; but also bitter, as would be the loss of a much-loved limb for anyone, especially if said limb would decidedly reject your body as not the best available option anymore. Some nights we wonder what on earth we're going to do with our time as just the two of us when she finishes her formal years of growing  to do; in eight years time, we'll still be less than fifty and how the hell are we going to spend all that time with just the two of us? Hence, I dream of living up north by the Arctic Sea. I come up with adventures to look forward to, just to soothe the pain.

Anyway, here's a picture of two of my limbs that are NOT missing, just to prove that I am whole, despite the bittersweetness of it all:

Oh, Midsummer at the cabin by the lake! I almost forgot! After the dock + sauna debacle that took us hours, plus the dinner that took us hours as well because we are no masters of the meat barbecueing trick, we had energy for nothing more so we just sat in the cabin watching the weather change and chitchatting with the people present until it was time to drive home. I didn't take any pictures of our drive home, because even though it was beautiful, I've sworn under oath I will not take pictures while driving (if there are people in the car with me, was my own addition to that rule, but no one needs to know about that). So here's a picture of a dog that obeys no one but my mother-in-law, who was out the moment I took this, which explains the chosen location of said dog.

Unlike daughters, dogs are like limbs that never unattach unless they go wildly insane. I think I might have to get a dog in eight years or so. Just to feel worthy again, you know. Anyway, this is the end of the story of our first road trip of the road trip season in the year of 2019.