A litte piece of Heaven

Although the title of this entry seems a little cliche, it holds meaning for me. I just returned from visiting, what I grew up thinking, was the greatest place on earth... The Cottage.
Tucked in a quiet corner of Lake Waseosa, just outside Huntsville, is truly "A little piece of Heaven"
I hadn't been there for almost 13 years and all I've been able to think about was the phrase "A little piece of Heaven" I'll explain why in a second. 13 years ago I went on the annual trip to my favourite place in the world, with a bunch of friends. No parents, just a bunch of 20 year old buddies. It was an epic weekend... to say the least. Many stories that have since been repeated over and over, and some we'd like to forget. We were at a reckless age, and probably drank more than we needed to. But we cleaned up after ourselves and left the place the same way we found it. Or so we thought. I've had 13 years of experience, five of those as a married man, to hone my cleaning skills, so it might not have been up to today's standards. However, I've always respected the cottage and would never leave knowing that I ruined anything. Two weeks after I'd returned home, I received a letter. It ripped me to shreds. In a very detailed manner, I had been basically scolded like a child and banished from the cottage. The reason still resonates with me today. The last sentence in the letter said that I had ruined their "little piece of heaven." I didn't let on at the time, but that comment cut me deep.
How could it be their piece of heaven if it was my piece of heaven?? I loved that place! How could someone think that I'd want to ruin it? But there was no compromise,
no opportunity to make amends. My Uncle bought the cottage and it became his and it was used solely by his ever expanding family. I wondered if I'd ever be able to enjoy that little piece of heaven again.
As you can see by the pictures, the answer is yes. I took these pics this morning at 7am while everyone else on the lake was asleep. It was a moment I'd been dreaming about for 13 years. I just wanted to see it again. I wanted to smell the pine. I wanted it to feel like it was mine. and in that moment, this morning I understood what the that sentence in the letter meant. This place is magical. This place is glorious. I was so appreciative of that moment. Thanks for forgiveness. Thanks for second chances. Thanks for letting me back, Uncle Jack.
God is good.
Amen.

Reboot..

#1 I haven't blogged in months. #2 Life gets nuts sometimes. Now that I've got those two facts out there, I'd like to announce that I'm back! and am now living in Hamilton.
My wife and I have committed ourselves to this new journey and we are officially off and running! Well, maybe jogging, ...er' speed walking.
Hamilton has been a big adjustment. Were renting again, which feels like a step backwards, but in reality, it's a big step sideways until we get a feel for this city. We left a pretty comfy existence in Sarnia to come here, so I'm expecting a couple of bumps. Well, maybe hills ...er' escarpments.
When Cindy and I moved into our apartment it was supposed to be cleaned... it wasn't. Including the carpets... they weren't. So all of our belongings went into the kitchen while we set up an appointment for a cleaner. Which couldn't happen until the following day. so, we headed back to Sarnia for the night. Back the next day to meet the cleaner, we realized the hydro was shut off by the power company. How did we discover this? Our carpet cleaner (paid by the hour) went to plug his machine in, the one he already lugged up a flight of stairs, and it didn't turn on. So in a panic, I called the hydro company and to our surprise, they had our hydro back on almost immediately. There have been some emotional ups and downs since then, but all in all it's starting to feel like our home... Until last night... Last night, we discovered we were not alone.
I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of little feet scampering across the roof outside. Or so I thought. Cindy freaked out and thought it was inside. I laughed, thinking she was half asleep. So I put my head down and started to drift off when it happened again. I remember being very impressed with acoustics in our bedroom. Wow, that sounds like- Then it flew a foot above my head. It was A BAT!!! that's right, A FRIGGIN' BAT!!! and it wasn't outside!! I looked at Cindy, who was already on lockdown inside the comforter and pillows. I was on my own. I sprang out of bed and grabbed the closest thing to me. A white T-shirt. I tried to flick the bat with my T-shirt and pick it off in mid-flight. The whole time running thru a mental checklist of all of the things I know about bats. Which isn't much. I thought they were blind, but he just toyed with me and easily evaded my attacks with the T-shirt. I heard bats carry rabies I don't know if that's actually true, but, I was a little nervous. And lastly, I thought bats lived in caves, so why the hell was I up at 3am in my boxers, trying to kill one with my dirty white T-shirt in my bedroom?! After minutes went by, Cindy could wait no longer. She made a mad dash with our comforter out of our bedroom into the spare room. I was convinced that he was rabid by this point and now I was alone. So I quickly followed and slammed the door behind me. We trapped the bat, but it wasn't a very good night sleep after that.
This morning I went into our bedroom and the bat wasn't anywhere to be seen. I'll keep you posted if he returns.
Yup, Cindy and I are so excited to be on this journey together.