The Lake!

A friend called at 4:00 on Monday afternoon to ask if we wanted to go to the lake.  My first thought was "NO!"  This is not a big deal for lots of people, but the word lake sends chills to my mamma heart.  I have heard too many sad stories about children in the lake.  I also had my evening planned out.  Supper was in the crockpot and a trip to Walmart was on the agenda.  I told him I would get back with him.  I called Mark at work and we talked it through.  We decided some spontaneity would be good for us, so we started getting ready.  I was still not thrilled, but we headed out anyway.


I am so glad we did.  The lake was not nearly as scary as I thought it would be.  The swimming area was pretty shallow, thanks party to the drought we are experiencing.  I still kept a sharp eye on my five fish, and Eli had a life jacket on from the moment he got out of the car until the moment he got back in.  Mark and the four older children each got a turn to go out on the sailboat (with life jackets of course!), and they were glowing from the experience!


I have started to realize that the older I have gotten and the more children I have had, the more tightly I have held to my planned agenda.  There has not been lots of spontaneity in my life!  I still mostly like it that way, out of necessity, I suppose.  I am thankful for friends who stretch us out of our comfort zone.  I am going to try to keep an eye out for more opportunities to let a little unplanned adventure slip into our lives now and then!