Summer, Youth, and Memories at the Pond

There are some things in life we just don’t appreciate until we are older.  I think most of us can relate to this sentiment in some way.  What we each connect to will be different but the feeling is there.  It’s a strong bond tied tight. 

There are the people who are no longer with us whom we wish we could express our gratitude.  Opportunities we may have passed up or had not taken full advantage of, we now see differently and would change our approach if we had another chance. Or just good times gone by, now are memories important to us.  We reminisce on them. 

My grandfather would often start a conversation with “Back in my day…” and he’d proceed to tell us a story, often with a lesson for us to think over.  He had perspective in his older age, now looking back, reflecting, and could tell stories in meaningful ways.  He appreciated what he had learned and wanted to teach me and other kids about life, knot tying, camping techniques and any other subject matter which was good material.  How good it would be to talk to him now as an adult. 

I have found in my life that places can be important too.  Something happened there some time ago. It may not have been so much about the place itself but people and experiences root our connection to the location.  A house.  A neighborhood. A school.  The place of an event.  Any place that was impactful.  

From my youth, in particular are my summers at Snow Pond in Princeton, Massachusetts.   A wooded land, a pond with an island and a couple of cabins.  Pretty simple really.  We learned to swim, fish, boat, and be with family members from near and far each summer.  My first memory is from when I was about five and the last when I was twenty.  My connection to this place can easily be recalled when hearing certain songs, seeing a view across a body of water, feeling a warm summer night or from the taste and smell of steam clams reminding me of the many clambakes with corn and potatoes. 

Even more specific to the location are the activities on a wooden dock, stained grey, about 20 feet long and wide, with a few boat slips.  A postage stamp in the bigger landscape of the whole place but significant. The dock was a place where multiple events simultaneously happened during the day. It was used for sunbathing, reading, listening to music, playing cards, talking, shucking corn and peapods. Off the edge of the dock was an ideal spot for fishing and peering into the water to watch the life of insects, fish and plants or look for the elusive snapping turtle (a story for another day). The location was the place for people to greet each other when they first arrived. A well groomed walking path led new arrivals directly to the dock to see who might be there. It was a welcoming event to reunite with those we have missed since the previous summer. Lots of hugs and handshakes along with greetings, “Oh, you’re here!”  “Hello! Hello!”  “How are you? " would seamlessly start the conversation and lead into other questions …

“You’re still in school at… what grade?”  

“Are you still working for….?”

“How’s your vacation going?... Where else have you gone?...  How was the drive?”  

“Well, look how much they’ve grown?!”  

The adults always had lots to talk about and catch up on while the kids looked awkwardly at each other for a few moments, trying to reconnect before heading to the water and boats and other ideas of fun.   

Often after summer dinners people would change into long pants and maybe a sweatshirt depending on the weather and how bad the mosquitoes were, and head down to the dock to watch the sun set.  We would watch the fish jumping for food.  Some nights there would be hundreds or thousands of fish jumping for bugs on the pond's surface.  As the stars would come out we would look for constellations, wish upon stars, and someone may say something philosophical or ask a deep question.  Eventually, we would go back to the cabins for more conversation, games and ice cream.   

A wooden dock on a pond was a small spot for people to gather. It became a place holding many memories for me.  The whole property has been gone from the family for over 30 years now.  The family is spread out throughout the country and the times we get together are far between with maybe a call, a text or a short social media conversation here and there.  As the years multiply since my younger days, my appreciation for the moments and the people who shared time on a dock on a pond, deepens.  

Do you have a memory of a special place?

This is a picture of me (seated to the left with white towel and blue stripe), two of my brothers and cousins.