Maine.

At the tender age of 1, my parents started bringing me to Maine.

We lived in the Bronx.

Somewhere in the New York Times they found an ad for a camp called, Aimhi.

It was family owned and operated, and had a lodge where all communal meals were served.

Think Dirty Dancing, in Maine.

Except there was no entertainment, but I was Baby (insert joke here).

So every summer we would make the trek up to Maine, in the goddamn minivan, and stay in our cabin, which had no TV, and no cellphones, GASP.

I would bring a bucket of books, and each evening as the sun went down, I would immerse myself in Christopher Pike. My parents would light a fire in the fireplace and we would just sit, together, in silence, reading.

I can still smell the air of a Maine night, with a fire going.

The days were spent swimming in the lake, where my Dad taught me how to fish, and exploring the outdoors. My Mom practiced how to make my swimming stronger. My Dad would take me out on a sailfish. A few of my parents friends had speed boats on the lake where I would learn to water ski. There was this massive wooden island that stood 3 stories high that you could jump off of. I don't even think I could do it now, let alone swim in a lake well because of, you know, Jason.

One time as us kids were swimming around the lake, one girl got up covered in leeches. We were wide eyed and freaked. She didn't seem to notice what had happened as we picked them off off her one by one laughing.

That was Maine.

Getting a splinter, bit by a fish, eating a lobster, getting covered in leeches and sap, learning to light a fire, and swimming for mussels. Pine cones EVERYWHERE.

Using flashlights to navigate a night that is blacker than black.

Lunch that was served on a chuck wagon.

Each summer the same families would come, creating friendships for my parents, as well as myself.

My summers in Maine, as I look back, were magic.

Pure and simple magic.

The ones I am reminded that I need to recreate for my own children.

I miss my parents.

But I don't miss what they gave me.

Magic.

Xoxo, C.