In Real Life

For Thursday, August 18, 2011

There is something rather funny about how strange an event it is to watch television or to even hear the radio when we’re at camp. At home we love to listen to music or to turn on the tv to watch our favorite shows, but here at camp, the quiet stillness, the sound of the outside is preferred. We all want it quiet enough to hear the family of ducks that have just flown in front of the camp or to hear the loons in the back cove, or to simply break into conversations with each other.

Once in awhile, however, we decide to watch a movie or to listen to a ballgame on the radio. When we do, we all huddle at one end of the living room, sharing a beanbag chair or flopping sideways onto the oversized chair that is just a foot from the tv screen. If Dad joins us, we grab the remote to add the subtitles so we can keep the volume down a bit but so he can still enjoy the movie with us.

The other night we watched one of my favorite movies, Dan in Real Life. The movie takes place at this beautiful bayside home where a large family has gathered---three brothers and a sister with their respective families. There is hustle and bustle of children, cousins, running in and around the home, and playful teasing as the family shares dinner, dishwashing, and laughter, loads of laughter. The scenes are not unlike how our own family times at camp have been over the years, including the Fourth of July group we had this year. The entertainment of family life, whether on the television screen or right in front of our eyes is a welcome respite from the world of schedules and appointments that we will soon return to. If only we saw it in front of our eyes and took notice to treasure it all more often.