Our family has gathered around this waterbody for generations, and with that passage of time have come moments and memories that have meant so much to us. The lake has always been the focus: from the time a child first encounters the water and starts the journey toward swimming, to the slow and deliberate motions of an elderly senior entering the lake for a moment of rejuvenation and weightless pleasure.

When we are not actually in the lake, we’re on it, beside it or facing it. The water somehow changes the frame for how we appreciate being together, it slows us down and helps us to get beyond our frequent default positions of self-centered inner monologues. Perhaps because the lake and watersheds remind us of something larger than us. Maybe the lake and it’s shifting appearance helps connect us to a sense of beauty and wonder. Or that being in or on the water takes us away from our routines we assume when we aren’t there; showing us a freedom that we rarely activate on our own.

Whatever the reasons, the lake has been the foundation for our memories and moments together. It’s allowed for greater connection to ourselves and each other, which is why it is my watermark.