In the heart of Canada, along the Manitoba/Ontario border and stretching down into Minnesota, lies Lake of the Woods. And this dock.
The lake is large and dotted with so many islands that it boasts the largest shoreline of any lake in the world. This swim dock is hidden on one of these islands, twenty minutes by boat from Kenora, Ontario through a rocky, buoyed water maze. Children have been jumping off this dock (or it’s predecessors) at Camp Stevens for a hundred years. My dad jumped off this dock. Probably a thousand times. I saw it for the first time on Saturday and I wanted to jump too. But I didn’t.
Later, it got me to thinking…When do we stop playing? When do we trade the carefree nakedness of play for the heavy-robed determination of exercise? And it’s worth asking. What would it take for you to play again?
Love Rae
