The Departure
Growing up, my family and I would routinely venture out on the mammoth waters of Lake Erie. We only lived about a half an hour from the lake, and mom and dad owned a 21 foot Grady White fiberglass boat that they kept docked at a lake marina. On the weekends, if the weather was nice, we would head out for a lake adventure. By Friday, we would start our preparations. The goal was to be packed and ready to take off early in the morning. Mom would pack our lunch, Dad would make sure we had the fishing gear ready, and my brother and I would help haul everything to the vehicle. The next morning we would make a final check of our supplies and head out. We’d park the car near our dock and haul the supplies down the stairs to our boat. I worked eagerly, because I knew the sooner we loaded the boat, the sooner we could get out fishing. But dad and mom never rushed because they knew we didn’t want to leave something behind. It would be a long trip back to shore if we did. After ever