Last weekend we spent two and a half perfect days at a cabin, built in 1904, alongside the Sacramento River in a place called Castella, a few miles south of Dunsmuir, California. The river was flowing at Spring volume, fast and furious. The Cabin was about 50 to 60 feet from the rivers edge, making the sound of the rushing water a predominant mantra. The more I listened, the more relaxed I became, to the point that I really didn’t want to do anything other than watch and listen to the aquatic chant.
We are going to spend five days there at the end of June, and last weekend was a sort of dry run to see what we might have to bring with us. We will be spending the time with our sixteen year old grand daughter and a close friend of hers and then entertaining the girls and their parents over the fourth of July weekend, at our home in Redding, California. It is an annual ritual we look forward to it with great anticipation and we plan accordingly. We get the feeling that the girls really enjoy the visits and we think it is because they are and feel free to be themselves. They spend a lot of time in their room with the door closed, but are ready, willing and able to join in any activities we may have planned for them.
Last year we started a custom that the girls would have to plan, shop for and cook one dinner. After gathering the ingredients they started preparations at 3 PM in the afternoon and diligently organized a dinner that was served at 6:30 PM. When I sat down to eat I was moved to tears over the fact that these two beautiful, young girls were maturing and growing into responsible young ladies. They enjoyed themselves, and we thoroughly enjoyed them and the dinner.
We have a feeling that the River, the Cabin, the girls and our hearts are going to come together in a perfect blend of joy, relaxation and continued revelation of who they are, what they are becoming and where they are going. We can’t wait.
