Sunday I was at a handful of Alexandria lake homes with two couples that are considering buying a vacation home.
It was a first in meeting with one of the couples and we had a conversation about what is important to them in interior finishing. Something was said that I agreed with and liked and caused me to record a mental note to add a blog post about imperfection at the lake. Let me explain.
Perfection isn’t something I avoid. I admire it and strive for it but seldom, if ever, reach it. The realization long ago registered that I am imperfect and there is also much to love in imperfection.
In the late 80’s, I was a student at St. Thomas home for a weekend and for the first time walked into a cottage my parents had bought at the south end of Lake Carlos. Even to a college student that was living in a tiny dorm room (really tiny, I was in St. Thomas’s Ireland Hall) that had only a little more aesthetic appeal, and only slightly better aroma than a hockey locker room, the space seemed like a huge task and was a little cringe worthy. But after my mother put her heart and mind to it, that view changed. From then on, features like the imperfect shower no longer bothered me as the rest of the bathroom was clean and had small touches of character. Cleaning and a fresh coat of white paint on the walls zapped the cringe. It was far from perfect but it was clean, welcoming and our imperfection. And we (not much by me) had done it. I enjoyed every minute at that cottage. Imperfection was accepted which helped strip away unimportant things in life and return the focus to enjoying what matters.
If you are thinking about a lake home for you and your family, I encourage you to look beyond what is in your mind as perfect. What is perfection is time with your family at the lake and the memories you bank.
