Ahh, July 3rd...one of my fave days ever in a calendar year because July 3rd meant that the Bock family was Up North at Pleasant Lake, in Deerfield NH.
Growing up in Westchester County, NY was fab, but my mother loved to "summer Up North" and I am blessed to have been one of those kids who spent summers outside, lakeside, and oceanside. We never spent the summer in NY, and even though I have a set of in-laws in a lovely part of Westchester, I still hate going to NY in the summer...it unnerves me!

Deerfield, NH was the location of some of my most cherished memories of summer, including, but not limited to: fishing for sunnies (sunfish), paddling my own 1923 Old Towne sailing canoe named Madeline, eating highbush blueberries right off the bush while wading in the lake, camping out in the woods without parents, swimming, sunning, simply being.

But most important about July 3rd was it meant that I was reunited with Meg. Meg was and is my true twin sister from different mothers...we are stereo speakers, finishing each others sentences frequently, or giving each other the exact same gift for Christmas (it has happened more than once, just ask a family member!) We giggle together, still, and speak our own language.

Meg now lives south of the border in sunny Florida, where it seems so many of my loved ones meander, but I love July because of Meg, Deerfield, NH, and memories.