Afterglow 2011 - Day 2 Sunday

The best thing about Afterglow is being surrounded by family. I have been up here a few times without them and it just wasn't the same. Jenny and Susie are like 6 months apart, so they have grown up together. So it was no surprise to see them hanging out together.

The killer whale proved to be a hit but then again any inflatable pool animal would have sufficed. Kids just need stimulus. They need to be entertained. Any PVC plastic animal would do but this year is was an Orcinus orca, or as it is commonly referred to as the killer whale. This guy wasn't so much killer as he was friendly because he didn't bite anyone. I would have loved to see him devour someone, but that would have been bad. We've seen our fair share of hospital visits up here, but I don't want to have to add shark attack to that list. No one needs that.

The adults know about raising their fists in the air but they don't know anything about The Revolution. Well, Uncle Greg does because he started it. But the others have a lot of learning to do.

I'll admit that I was halfway surprised that James and Melissa made it to Afterglow this year. Not that they didn't enjoy being up here, it's just that time off from work is limited and they have yet to go on a Honeymoon. But of course we were ecstatic to have them here.

There's no lifeguard on duty, but that doesn't mean that there isn't someone out there watching out for us. Rez (with mug in hand) assumed that role, although I don't think he'd be much help if there was danger.

People need this place. for 51 weeks of the year we need to deal with the stress of our lives, our tiresome jobs, the man breathing down our necks, medical issues that prevent us from feeling complete, endless drama that weighs us down or any of the countless little things that add up to a boat load of big things. I could single everyone out and tell you way each of them need this week, but I'll let you pause for a moment and reflect upon your life and figure that out for yourself. The answer is there, all you need to do is close your eyes and let it find you.

The raft always looks oh so lonely without us, which is why I try not to leave her alone for too long. Sometimes I look out at her, sitting solemnly in the water and I shed a tear. Life shouldn't be this way. We belong in the company of others, so to her I will always return.

When the girls were done abusing this beast, he retreated to the dock hoping to get a sip from Rez's mug. But he was being selfish and refused to share, even if that thing could bite his head off.

The girls took turns trying to dominate this aquatic species and for the most part they succeeded. They were lucky because it wasn't Shark Week. Because during Shark Week, the sharks get even.

A solitary figure stands firm in the cold dark world as a beacon of strength and a fortress of safety, and we instinctively flock to it hoping for the sustenance that will allow us to endue the long and treacherous path ahead of us. We cannot help but be attracted to it. She calls us, yearns for our warmth to coddle us and nurture us in her enveloping bosom of safety. I love the HD and the HD loves me. I have spent some of the best hours of my life cuddled up in her presence, and I know that I also speak for the rest of my family. It is an oasis in the middle of a barren desert.

James has been coming up here since before you were born, so I doubt you could keep him away even if you tried. There is something in our DNA that calls us back to the source, and we aren't complete until we are swathed in the wholeness and goodness of this paradise.

Home