Summer Day at the Lake

The sun was high, and the temperature pushing 100 that summer day as we pulled up to Gardner's Lake, a swimming hole in the hills near my brother Charles's house in Connecticut. No sooner had we stopped than the kids tumbled out of the hot car and started running toward the water.

"Wait a minute!" I yelled after my older three. "Don't run so fast!" My husband, Stanley, took the picnic basket out of the trunk, while Charles and his wife, Dolores, unloaded an inflatable raft and inner tube from their car. Their two kids went chasing after mine.

"Oh, let them have their fun, Ginny," Charles said, smiling. "You can hardly blame them for wanting to cool off. I feel like running in there myself."

I scooped up my youngest, three-year-old Ginger, and started after the kids.

"I don't care how hot it is today," Dolores said, "they're not going to get me to stick more than my toes in that water." The water came straight from natural springs, and it was freezing.

"Oh, come on, girls," Stanley called out from behind us. "On a hot day like this you could use a dip." It was a long-running family joke that Dolores and I never went swimming in cold water.

"Oh, we'll find a way to get you in," Charles laughed. "Don't you worry about that."

"No you won't. Not today," I warned. Dolores and I usually chose a shady spot on the shore, where we could talk and keep an eye on the kids.

Tall pine trees rose up all around us, their shadows cooling the pine needles under our feet as we walked down the hill. Through the trees, the lake sparkled blue and white in the summer sun.

"Looks like we've got all of Gardner's Lake to ourselves this afternoon," Stanley said.

"More room to splash in!" Charles added. "Come on, kids. Last one in is a rotten egg!" He took off running down the hill, the inner tube bobbing over his head as the kids chased him.

"Be careful!" I yelled.

"Are you going to go swimming with me, Mommy?" Ginger asked.

"No, honey," I answered, "Aunt Dolores and I are staying put. But Daddy's going in, and he'll keep an eye on you. Won't you, Stanley?"

"Of course I will," he said. He took Ginger out of my arms. "How'd you like to learn the doggy paddle?" She smiled up at him and nodded excitedly.

Dolores and I spread out our blanket on the beach and unpacked the picnic baskets as the others dove into the water. Pretty soon, laughter and splashing echoed across the quiet lake. We slipped off our sandals and walked up to the water's edge.

"Brrr!" Dolores exclaimed as the cold water lapped over her feet. "It's freezing! Honestly, I do not understand how they can enjoy this."

"Yes, we're married to a couple of nuts," I said, watching as Stanley made a belly flop that sent water everywhere, much to the children's delight. Dolores stepped back on shore.

"How about we find a nice spot in the shade?" Dolores looked around. "Up there look good?" She pointed to a wooded hill a few yards away. "It looks pretty cool in the trees."

Continued on page 2: Fifteen minutes seemed to go by when, suddenly, I felt a terrible sense of urgency... »