silver lake

Wedding Day

mikemjensen Vanity Tags: , , Leave a comment

Hey Kids,

You’re going to have to excuse me today but this will be a short post, it’s my wedding night.

So why am I on the computer blogging?

Good question. Except it’s what I do.

The ceremony was great. Had cops show up but all was well. The weather remained rainy but broke long enough for us to have our moment and walk around the lake for pictures. It started again as we reached our cars. I’ll thank our prayers for that miracle.

Our Wedding Chapel- Fall Edition

Our Wedding Chapel- Fall Edition

The cabin served as an excellent host for our guests. Adults visited, kids ran wild through the trees. Everyone found enough food to make them happy. Many sneakers and school shoes were muddied and possibly ruined, all to the chagrin of the parents who let their kids run wild outside.

The rains have again subsided and the air has cooled to 38°F. Luckily the hot tub is maintaining 106.

We are going to enjoy the evening into the night soaking up the hot water. Then we’ll see if we can find anything else to keep us occupied until sleep finds us. After that we will sleep-in to as close to the 11 o’clock check-out time in the morning, as we possibly can.

I’ll be back tomorrow and fill in some more details.

 

Day 222

Canyon of Memories

mikemjensen Life's Truths, Vanity Tags: , , , , 1 Comment

Hey Kids,

It’s the evening before our wedding and the start of our marriage.

The normal thing the day before, apparently, is to be nervous or anxious but I’m not. I’ve got a still cool and inner excitement instead.

At this writing, I’m sitting at a large kitchen table in a cabin located at an elevation of about 8,000 feet in Big Cottonwood Canyon, Utah- my favorite canyon in the world.FullSizeRender (2)

This canyon holds so many memories for me. My family and I have made so many trips up here over the years. I can tell a story or share a fact about most of the 17 miles of road from the mouth of the canyon to the glacier-cut bowl at the top. I know every curve of the road, every stretch of hills, and every turnout. We have been up here so many hundreds of times that I bet we border the 1000 number.

Tomorrow the ceremony will be at Silver Lake. I know this lake even better. Every part of the 1 mile trail and boardwalk holds a story of when this or that happened. Over there is where the boys scaled the rock wall. That sign over there is where Dakota slipped and cut his head just above the eyebrow. We’ve seen moose here, and here, and over there. The best place to spot the fish is on the bridge or the overlook on the other side of the lake. I can go on and on. The memories come on so thick sometimes they crowd out the mosquitoes.

Sometimes it’s painful. Sometimes I wonder why I keep coming up here. The memories attempt to mock the fact that there will be no new ones made.

But isn’t that the fact with all memories? Their entire existence is based in the past. My nest simply emptied earlier than expected and much earlier that I would have ever wanted. That’s what hurts.

Tomorrow I will start a new era of my life. A woman I love and who loves me is about to become a permanent part of it. Instead of leaving my favorite place in the world in the past with its memories, I’ve decided to continue to create new ones. Tomorrow will be a huge addition.

There will be no sadness as I gaze on the familiar rocks and trees and see the reflection of my young children. My walk around the lake with my new bride will be but another set of footprints added to the thousands I have left before and but a small example of what I hope to leave in the future.

The cool calm and the inner excitement is what I call happiness, and I seem to have plenty of that nowadays.

Especially tomorrow.

 

 

Day 221

My Lake

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Hey Kids,

I moved around a lot during my upbringing.

Although a little skewed, I attended 10 schools in my 13 years of public education. Yes that includes Kindergarten. No I didn’t repeat a year. Nice try.

During that time, it’s hard to grow attached to any one place. So when I find a place to which I do grow attached, rest assured it’s a good one.

During the years of raising kids, the recreation money wore thin and we found many hours recreating within the minivan and driving into the mountains that border the Salt Lake valley.

Within these Wasatch Mountains is a canyon called Big Cottonwood and 17 miles up the canyon, where it ends at nearly 9,000 ft. elevation, lies a small mountain lake called Silver Lake.

During the hundreds of trips, we saw the improvements to the trail and boardwalk around it. We’ve been there during scorching summer days and have tromped through knee-deep snow banks. I pushed strollers and later begged kids to slow down. I’ve dragged teenagers out of the car and watched them reluctantly enjoy themselves.

We’ve seen moose and deer, watched the beaver build their dams and lodges, and watch the hundreds of trout rise in the evenings for their daily gorge of insects.

Silver Lake grew to my most favorite place in the world. Every step holds a memory. I know the trees, the banks of the lake, and the wood planks of the boardwalk as if they were family. I can tell a story related to every point on the one mile trail. It’s a picture board of my life with my kids.

Those days and events have stopped now. The chronicle of my children’s life will no longer be measured against the backdrop of this beautiful setting. The visits have dropped in frequency and always void of children.

In less than two weeks Silver Lake, however, will be the site of the wedding to my new bride.

The past will remain in the past and in my memories. The future lies before me. The thing that will remain consistent is my favorite place in the whole world shared with those I love the most.

 

Silver Lake Utah

Silver Lake

Day 209