Summers at Nolin Lake: Mom

Summers at Nolin Lake were fun as my cousins, my sister and I frolicked around in the lake and generally had a good time. Most times my sister and I went to the lake with my Aunt Jean and Uncle Roy and my cousins, but many times my dad joined us at the lake for the weekend when we were there. More rarely my mother decided to come along, and sometimes she just raised questions!

Growing up I suffered from inner ear trouble and could not get water in my ears or I would get an infection. So, in some twisted mom logic, my mother mandated I could not go into the water until I learned how to swim; of course, to learn how to swim it is necessary to get in the water. When I pointed out this fact to my mother, she would say, “Don’t argue with me! When you learn to swim you can get in the water!”

When my mother was not around, this prohibition did not apply. My uncle Roy actually taught me how to swim. I remember we were out boating and were coming back to the campsite. When we were about 100 yards from shore Uncle Roy stopped the boat and asked if I wanted to swim to shore. I told him I didn’t think I could swim that far, but he said I could do it, so I eased myself down into the water and started to swim toward the campsite. Roy kept the boat along side of me as I swam, and my cousin Jay was sitting on the side of the boat ready to jump in and help me if I encountered trouble. I managed to swim the distance. To this day it is probably the longest distance I swam at one time.

My mom’s logic could get quite a bit crazy at times. I remember one time when my cousins, my sister and I were playing in the lake by the campsite (after I finally showed my mother I could swim!), and after awhile they all decided to go back up to the trailer my uncle placed on the site. I did not want to go in, so I stayed in the water as they all left. After a short time I heard a clap of thunder and looked up and saw a storm cloud approaching. About that time I also saw a large bolt of lightening blast from the cloud; that was my clue to get out of the water, so I headed toward the shore.

While paddling to shore I hear my mother yell to me to get out of the water now. Being in a contrary mood, I shouted back “why?” Now I expected my mother to say I needed to get out of the water due to the lightening from the storm, but no my mother employed her mom logic and yelled back, “I don’t want you to get wet!”
Since she was up at the campsite yelling to me as I was in the lake, all the campsites around us could hear our exchange. When mom told me she didn’t want me to get wet, I shot back, “I am up to my neck in water, I am already wet!” I think the laughter coming from the other campsites lasted for about 10 minutes!

By Ralph Dickerson