Waiting For The Sun To Rise

Tyler's Final Day At The Lake

Dahlia Daze

5:50

 It's 6:25 and I have been up since 5:45 waiting for the sun to rise.  Finally, at 6:25, it began to peak out over Long Point, as it continues its journey south, a few minutes later each day.  I find it hard to believe that a good part of the summer is over, that kids will be going back to school in the next couple of weeks, that fall is only a month and a half away.  I had a great paddle, hardly a boat in sight and I spotted four different herons pictured below.

Yesterday was my grandson Tyler's final day at the lake.  Unfortunately, he's a working man now and had to go back to Boston for work.  The day started with a paddle down to Whitney Bay and back.  It was another stellar morning, few boats, no waves, and a couple of photographs of herons.  When Tyler and Marisa got up, they both wanted Evie's special sour cream pancakes but they also wanted to get in a workout at the gym, so they had a light breakfast, went to work out and when they came back, Evie had the sour cream pancakes and bacon ready for a late breakfast, a brunch really.

We were planning on a  special dinner but I suggested putting it off and having something easy.  Evie was more than amenable, so we had Marisa and Beth's favorite, Slovenian sausages and I talked Evie into making its complement, beans and potato soup with sauerkraut.  Once the soup was done, dinner was practically made.  Beth left for the airport with Tyler at 2:30 for a 5:30 flight and Evie and I then went out and enjoyed the sun on the dock for a good part of the afternoon.  I finished my book, finally, The Great Believers and started the new Jackson Brodie novel by Kate Atkinson, BLUE SKY.

Beth returned around 5:30, ready for a glass of wine and some relaxation on our front porch.  It was certainly a bit quieter now that Tyler left, but we all missed him and his humor.  We were all hungry, so Evie boiled the sausages, heated up the soup and sauerkraut and we had a great peasant dinner, beans, and potatoes and sauerkraut, along with a Slovenian sausage from Azman's Meat in Euclid, Ohio, a family that has been making these sausages since the 1950s.

We then watched a BOY ERASED, a true story about a fundamentalist Arkansaas's families attempt to convert their son from his gay ways.  To them, homosexuality is a choice and by sending him to a conversion center, they hope that by turning to Jesus, he will be saved.  It's difficult to watch Jared and other 'queers' submit to a Christian version of tough love.  It's worth watching and based on a memoir by Garrard Conley. Thirty-two states still allow gay conversion centers to function.