#577 Waukaway.
The youth and children’s departments from our church made the annual day trip up to Waukaway Springs and mama was finally able to go swimming there for the first time since she was a little girl. This is where she learned to swim and one of her most beloved columns of all time is about the summers she spent here in childhood through high school. I love her stories about flirting with boys, eating ice cream and popcorn, laying out on the wooden platform in the center of the lake while Mustang Sally was playing from the snack stand.
These photos both pre-date mama’s days at Waukaway by a long shot, but I think it looked basically the same when she went there.
We had the best time. Her girlish wild streak came out when she was the first one to jump into the frigid spring-fed water. She’s always been a tomboy. At her urging, I finally got the courage but I didn’t stay in long. We spent most of the day lounging in the sun and wading in to our waists when it got too hot. This is what Waukaway looks like today:
But to me, this is how it felt:
Mitter Ben getting ready to blob someone:
After we left, mama and I took a little adventure. It’s a secret just between the two of us, so I won’t say much about it, but it involved saving a very sweet momento of her childhood from total ruin. We were both overjoyed when we got home. I know that for me, today will always be one of my most favorite days spent with mama.
And MAN I hope I look like her in a swimsuit when I’m her age.
