Chapter 26 - The Midsummer Retreat
By July, the summer heat had settled over the city like a heavy, shimmering blanket. To escape the asphalt glare and take advantage of Lauren’s college summer break, we decided to take a weekend camping trip up to a quiet state park nestled in the foothills of the northern mountains.
It was our first real vacation in years. We packed a modest tent, sleeping bags, a cooler full of fresh fruit and sandwiches, and a couple of paperback books into the trunk of my trusty sedan.
The campground was situated beside a crystal-clear mountain lake, surrounded by towering stands of pine and birch trees.
Setting up the tent proved to be a comical exercise in teamwork, with Emma reading the instruction manual upside down while Lauren and I tried to figure out which fiberglass pole went into which slot. By the time the tent was finally pitched—leaning slightly to the left—we were all laughing so hard our sides hurt.
As twilight settled over the mountains, painting the sky in breathtaking ribbons of orange, violet, and deep indigo, we built a small campfire in the stone fire ring.
We roasted marshmallows over the glowing embers, turning them into gooey, golden treats while Grandma Jean—who had opted to stay comfortably at home with a good book—felt miles away, though we called her on the phone to describe the sunset.
"Look at those stars," Lauren whispered, leaning back against a folding lawn chair and gazing up at the dark canopy of the night sky, which was completely unpolluted by city lights. "You can actually see the Milky Way out here."
"In the city, you only see the lights that humans build," I observed, sitting beside her with a cup of warm tea. "Out here, you see what was here long before us."
May you like
"And what will be here long after we're gone," Lauren added softly.
Sitting around the campfire, listening to the gentle crackle of the wood and the distant hoot of an owl in the pines, I realized that peace wasn't something you bought with wealth or status; it was something you cultivated in the quiet spaces of your own heart, surrounded by people who loved you for simply being yourself.
