The seasons they go round and round

I've written about Pretty Colour Lakes State Park on my blog so many times that when a blogging friend was in town yesterday, it seemed entirely appropriate to take him there for a walk.

Normally in January, we'd be putting on snowshoes or cross-country skis to follow the trail around the lake. But the weather has been unseasonably warm. We didn't even need mittens or hats, and I wore my winter coat mostly out of habit. Our conversation began, of course, with some depressing thoughts of global warming as we followed the cedar-lined trail. In keeping with that mood, the lake was not showing off its lovely deep green colour, but the darker blue grey that it looks on cloudy days with a wind.

Of course, this was not my friend's first time at Pretty Colour Lakes. He grew up here in Snowstorm Region, and he can remember taking swimming lessons at the lake. Although we met through blogging, he and I went to the same elementary school, the same high school. We are practically related.

We circled both lakes, talking intently. Since Practically Related and I have kids the same age, our conversation soon shifted to parenting, the joys and frustrations of raising teenagers. These kind of conversations usually lead to the eternal questions parents of teens ask each other. How come our kids can't learn from our mistakes? Why must they do the same stupid things we did? How is it they don't see how cool and progressive their parents are?

Over lunch we talked about writing and blogging, about work and family, about finding a balance in life. We've both made choices that give us time to spend with our kids and spouses, time for reading and writing, time for hikes and picnics and friendship. The restaurant we ate in was still decorated for Christmas, with white lights and fake pine boughs, and we sat for a few minutes even after we were done with our veggie burgers, talking about the twists and turns our lives had taken, and how lucky we were.