Well, not totally. But my beach urchins decided to close the moomincabin for the season. I am happy about this. It’s not like the GG and couldn’t still do it. Not at all. Although I do not really know how to drain the pipes, etc. The GG is the Master of the Universe when it comes to that.

My parents used to close the place for the season. When I was a kid, we moved to town on Labor Day. Later on, they would stay out there until snowflakes were visible in the air before they moved. By that time, Radical Betty lived two doors down and there were little parties, etc. But my parents were only a 20 minute drive away from their winter home and could go back and forth to the moomincabin if needed. Five hours away (like we are) is different.

The first summer after my dad died, I went up to help The Commander close the cabin. It was early October and it was a beautiful warm sunny day. Radical Betty was with us and we had take-out food from Karl’s Cuisine and a bottle of whine and a birch tree randomly spiraled down into itself. It was a good thing we closed the cabin that weekend because a few days later, The Comm and Radical Betty drove to Petoskey and got caught in a big snowstorm.

After that summer, the GG became the Master of the Moomincabin and opened and closed the place every year. He can do that kind of thing without even thinking about it. For a while, we joked that when he retired, he might set up a small business opening and closing rustic northern cabins. But he hangs out on the North Country Trail instead.

This is a bit bittersweet for me. I am ecstatic that my children love their homeland enough to help care for it. I am sad that I am not there this week. But it’s okay! They will learn how to deal with the plumbing and other aspects of a rustic cabin. I hope my parents (and grandparents) are watching us from wherever they are.

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