About fifty years ago a young couple drove east out of Fargo following the map on county roads crowded by corn fields on both sides looking for an obscure lake called Eunice not far from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. They had heard of a property for sale from a friend who had a cabin on another lake in the area, so why not take a look? What they found was a small lake with just a few cabins and a nice lakeside property with an old garage sitting next to a narrow dirt road with a field of corn on the other side.
Vern and Donna hatched a dream that day – wondering if they could convert this structure into a place where they and their young family could spend summer days at their very own cabin, swimming, fishing, and just doing what folks have always done at a cabin in Minnesota. And so, they did just that.
They transformed that garage into a simple cabin, added patios around which flowers and annual plants took root, and where tall trees have sprouted and a pontoon boat floats next to a dock where the water is gently lapping on the shoreline Here this couple, their three children Cindy, Karen, and Mark who with their spouses added seven grandchildren who with their spouses have now added fifteen great grandkids – adding up to a family of 35 – all have many pleasant memories and a nostalgic connection to this lake.
Today I am sitting in this simple cabin just a week after my brother Vern passed from this life, and six weeks after Donna’s death, flooded with my own memories. It is quiet here today, which I cherish, as we wait for the arrival of my sisters and the whole gang of their family. It will be good to be together sharing the memories of this place and thankful that Donna and Vern realized that dream of long ago. We will hug each other, tell stories, laugh and cry, and just stare at the lake, watching for the loon to pass by and know that this is happiness – just being here.
We will gather in a few days for a funeral, to celebrate how through their lives Vern and Donna demonstrated values of faith and the true meaning of family. I will sing for my brother, “Come to Me all who labor and are heavy laden. And I will give your rest”. Words he knew well from scripture. He was laden with memory loss in the latter part of his life, and Donna took on a burden of caring for him, willingly and with great love. They knew these words from Jesus. “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”.
A chapter has closed but the story will continue for this lovely family. There will be many more days at “the lake”, as Mark and Tracy continue caring for this place and keeping this legacy. And maybe I’ll be back again. I hope so.
