fairport harbor

My husband has been going to fairport harbor since he was a little boy. leaving friday after his parents were done working and driving up to his grandma and grandpa's house on lake erie. spending the whole weekend outside. on the beach, swimming in the lake, painting his grandparent's house with a paintbrush and a bucket of water, exploring his grandma's garden, hitting golf balls with his uncle into the lake in the evening, playing with his brother and sister and cousins and aunts and uncles and his special grandma and grandpa.

his grandpa i never met- but feel as if i know. i know his love of pink, wintergreen candies, his faith, his  ability to talk to and make friends with any stranger he was passing, his afternoon naps he'd take under the living room fan on the floor with his feet up on the couch,  his spontaneity, his calmness, his favorite neil diamond song, his love for his children and family and his wife- his "doll".

we went this past weekend and i heard more stories of him and the past and the feelings my husband gets being in the town he visited when he was a child and now bringing his own child to experience the same. my sister in law said she watched her son walking down the sidewalk towards the lighthouse hill, the same walk she did all those days, "he's living my childhood" she said smiling.

finn and his three cousins played all weekend. keeping each other busy and entertained and getting along with laughs and tackles and learning to share and learning for themselves just what makes their gigi's house so, so special.

we celebrated the summer, the whole family coming together, the arrival of a new baby girl coming in november, a weekend by the lake and gigi's 85th birthday.

if finn looks back on this summer, and if he is able to retain a couple memories, i hope one he can think of is running down that lighthouse hill, surrounded by his three cousins, laughing as they move their little feet faster than they knew they could go, the lake glistening in the sun's golden hour light. and i hope he can recall the feeling of love and the enchantment of a tiny town on the lake.

and a little video i put together of clips i took from the weekend...
https://vimeo.com/103762470