A TAYLOR-MADE LIFE: Lakeside with the family

Last week, Keegan and I joined his family for a five-day vacation on Lake Chetek in New Auburn, Wisconsin. The leisurely trip was about as close as you could get to my definition of “vacation.”

Warm weather? Check. Body of water? Check. Antique shopping? Check.

I’d never been that far north in Wisconsin; it’s about 400 miles northwest of Kankakee. One of the best parts was the wildlife.

We saw several bald eagles (or possibly the same bald eagle several times) and large herons whose wingspan was incredible. There was a deer and fawn that we’d see around the same time each night, walking near the cabin eating plants. Not far from the house, we saw some clusters of turkeys.

One afternoon, I fell asleep while reading on the shaded patio. I woke up surrounded by a dozen geese who were helping themselves to bites of grass.

Typically, when we saw the geese, they were wading in the water of Lake Chetek, making their way through the series of interconnected lakes.

Two of the days we had rented a pontoon boat and spent quite a bit of time on the open water. Sitting on the boat with the sun on my shoulders, wind blowing through my hair and Boz Scaggs playing on the speaker is akin to serenity.

Our nieces had a ball throwing on their little life jackets and jumping off the boat into the water. They’d swim back to the ladder and do it over and over again. What I wouldn’t give for an ounce of their energy.

The second day on the boat, we took it to a restaurant that had dock parking. We sat on the restaurant’s patio, and with the décor and sandbox, it felt as if we were in a tropical oasis.

When we tired of the water, we’d retreat to the cabin for badminton, fishing and one surprisingly short game of Monopoly.

On the final day, it rained and we hit the shops in town – checking out some antiques and an ice cream shop that boasts being the only business in the state of Wisconsin that doesn’t use artificial dyes. (If you ever find yourself up that way, the place is called Kurschner’s Super Premium Ice Cream, and you would never guess that the chocolate coconut is dairy-free.)

Over the course of the week, I enjoyed some pockets of quiet where I did some reading and writing. But for the most part, we spent all of our time together as a family, and it was a great time to bond, laugh and create memories. It was another reminder of how lucky I am to have not only met Keegan, but the amazing family that he comes from.