A Family Saga

Today’s Post by Mildred Alpern

Ninety years ago, my husband’s father purchased some land by a lake in upstate New York and constructed a vacation house for his growing family. Over the years, during the summer months, family members and guests would gather, some staying, others visiting for weekends or longer. It remains a summer retreat replete with memories, well-worn and on many occasions elaborated upon.

Invariably, some family members have assumed greater responsibility for the necessary running order upkeep and maintenance. While occasional additions have made minimal changes, nothing significant altered the structure. However, most recently, a nephew and niece who have consistently taken loving care of the home undertook major architectural renovations, among them a redesign of the kitchen and a six-foot widening of the lake-front porch, thus adding to the dining space.

On a recent visit, a bright October day, I admired these structural changes. The gleaming white kitchen with its multiple stoves, refrigerators, and storage units boasted abundant light from the bank of windows overlooking the vegetable garden beyond and from the ceiling’s recessed lighting. The beauty of the lake, viewed from the wrap-around porch windows, reflected the shimmering autumn colors of trees in the distance. Set for lunch, the porch glowed in the afternoon light with the wicker settee and chairs at the far end ready for the catch-up conversation.

As part on an ongoing saga, current and future generations of this family and their friends will add new chapters to a history of family togetherness envisioned some ninety years ago.

All images were shot with the Olympus E-M5 Mark II and the Olympus M. Zuiko 12-100mm f/4 Pro; the porch, 12mm. 1/160 at f/4.5, -1/3EV, ISO 250; the lake, 34mm. 1/1600 at f/4.5, -2/3EV, ISO 250; the kitchen, 12mm, 1/60 at f/4.5. =1/3EV. ISO 250.