meet gary

meet gary

Gary is my friends dad. He is one of the kindest, most genuine, insightful and accepting people I have ever known. He and his lovely and equally wonderful wife Jeanne, have been loving, accepting and welcoming me into their home for the past 13 years every summer as if I were their own child. My cottage time is so sacred and has always been the favorite few days of my summers.

After a dinner on the patio overlooking the gorgeous lake the other night, Gary asked me if I wanted to go fishing with him. He hadn’t caught anything worth keeping all summer until that point and thought I might be able to bring him some luck, so off we went. He caught a tiny fish pretty quickly but nothing after that. We joked about a hex on the boat or something as there have always been trout a plenty in years past. Fish or not, it was worth going out as the company was great as always and I even got to drive the boat home. Here’s a photo of Fisherman Gary. (By the way since our outing the other night He’s broken the hex and reeled in a 6-pounder!):

I also snapped this photo of the shore room as we were speeding away in the boat the other night. This was an addition to the cottage a couple of years ago for Gary’s 70th birthday. I get to sleep there when I visit now. One word to describe waking up in that room? Heaven.

There are many reasons I love coming to the lake, but the biggest is the time I get with my friend Patrick and his incredible parents. Over the years I have learned so much from them even though they probably would never know they were teaching. I’ve learned about acceptance, love, joy and being grateful. I’ve been inspired to be more open and give more of myself. This family exudes light, life and love more than I could ever describe. Their overall positive energy is a force to be reckoned with and they have that magnetic way that just makes you want to be around them as much as possible. They are the purest beings and a few of my absolute favorite ones on the planet. Each summer as I pull up the long steep road away from them, I feel completely full and peaceful.

As my time at the lake comes to an end now, I already dream of boat rides, quiet dock time, dinners on the patio, listening to the lapping of the water, the lessons, and all the true conversation over the sunset shores with this family. Thank you Patrick, Jeanne and Gary for every moment of our time together and every ounce of love you continue to give me and everyone around you.