Croquet, Phragmites, and Huron City Sleeping Sickness
This past week I moved from the mountains to my old family property in northern Michigan — Huron City.
The property has been with my family since the 1800s, originally lumbered by a great-grandparent named Langdon Hubbard (strong name). The property sits on Lake Huron, which as a great Lake is expansive like the ocean but warmer and salt free. I visited Huron City almost every summer when I was a kid, so needless to say it’s a special place and great way to wrap up 6 weeks of being on the road.
Huron City’s Two Magic Properties
Huron City has two special powers over me and almost everyone who visits. The first is sleeping sickness. The majority of cabins on the property have no internet and are littered with decade old couches that envelop you like Jubba the Hut’s belly. At HC, whether you’re on the beach, reading in a hammock, or floating on the lake, sleep will hit you. It’s common to wake up confused, sunburnt, and on a raft, having floated halfway to Canada.
The second effect is related to the first — no matter how much you plan to get done (with the exception of reading), you will only complete one quarter of your list. I always come to Huron City expecting to write, work out, and complete a bunch of projects. In the end, I spend more time swimming, napping and catching up with distant cousins and this is fine. It reminds me that in general, if you complete the 2–3 most important items on your list every day and spend the rest of the time with people you care about, you’re doing well.
Family Time
As mentioned, Huron City is primarily about family and most of the catching-up is done impromptu — whether at the beach, playing volleyball, or competing in everything from cards to trivial pursuit.
These interactions drive home a line from Tim Urban’s “Wait But Why” article on friendship, which says, “friendships develop from repeated, unplanned interactions; and a setting that encourages people to let their guard down.” The same is true of family.
The best example of this for me in HC, is playing croquet. Our family’s take on this traditionally fancy game, involves the ability to send another player’s ball, as far as you can (preferably to the beach), if you hit them with your ball. It’s always interesting to watch as a new addition to the family reacts, as their spouse or a distant cousin mercilessly sends their ball. While I have some dark memories losing to my brother at this game as a kid, you learn so much playing, fighting, winning and competing with friends — it’s important not to lose this as you get older.
I ❤ Manual Labor (some of the time)
This year I spent a number of afternoons in HC cutting and hauling an invasive weed, called phragmites. Whether attacking it with a machete or a weed whacker, there was something deeply satisfying about the slow, steady progress of cutting the phragmites down and clearing a view from our property to the lake.
I get the same feeling whenever I’m camping and doing basic tasks like collecting firewood. Most of us spend 8+ hours of our day sitting in front of a computer, using our fingertips and mind, to drive an intangible goals. As new technologies like virtual reality become mainstream, this is going to get worse. Sitting in the sun and cutting phragmites reminded me how important it is to get outside and use your hands from time to time. Whether building a bike, gardening vegetables, or chopping wood, you should try to break your digital routines on a regular basis.
In the end, while I wanted to write more this past week, I’m happy I got so much time resting, relaxing and seeing family. Now I’m traveling onwards to the east coast, and soon, back to SF.
