Telling the Family

My immediate family – my parents, three brothers and their families, and an aunt and uncle – got together a couple of weeks ago.  We had already bought the fifth wheel and had been hired for the camp host job, so we told them about it.  The response was mostly positive, with tones of “why haven’t you told us this before?”  They seemed to understand when I told them that I hadn’t announced this at work yet and was keeping it kind of quiet.

My father, who has been retired for a number of years, seemed to be happy for us.  My mother, who will never retire, is still skeptical.  I don’t blame her – she watched her own father’s health fail shortly after he retired and is convinced that he should have kept working.  In my mind, the difference is that we are not retiring to stop working, but to change when, where and how we work.

My brothers all committed to coming up to the Hoop Lake next summer while we are there.  We all have fond memories of family camping at Hoop Lake, and my niece can’t wait to walk around the lake again.