A New Outlook of Life: Jumping in the Lake

Within the last couple of weeks, Spring has finally reached Pennsylvania. Currently I am sitting in the garden, with the sun pouring down on me, and birds are chirping all around. Each day seems to become more beautiful: flowers popping up, trees sprouting luscious green leaves, and the days become warmer and longer. The renewed feeling of Spring has made me appreciate each new day, and in general I have noticed a dramatic increase in my mood... Seeing the sun again after a long winter is a feeling like none other. Last weekend I was on a hike with a friend of mine, and I was telling her a story which became the backbone of a new philosophy I am taking on life... And I would like to share that story with you.

Every year my family goes up to the Adirondacks in New York to help friends of our open a cabin they have on a lake for the summer season. Essentially this means cleaning all the different cabins, making sure the water works, setting up the dock, etc. It's something we all look forward every year, because the Adirondacks are absolutely stunning; going up for a long Memorial day weekend is a great way to start off the summer vibe. Because Memorial day is in late may, you would think it would be really warm, but the air temperature is actually quite a bit cooler because of the elevation at their property. The cabin is right on a big lake, and jumping in the lake is extremely cold (as it has been frozen all winter). Normally we will all jump in the lake at least once on our last day, despite it being too cold to really swim. This past trip, however, it was particularly cold,and on the last day I ended up wimping out, and never jumped in the lake. I distinctly remember having been mad at myself for not jumping in, because it was another annoying example of my extreme indecisiveness.