Lisa A. Kramer

by Lisa A Kramer

"I can't believe we have a summer home!" Sarah KramerLee

Nathan and I couldn't help but laugh at Sarah's perspective on our summer lives. While my idea of a summer home might be more like this:

[caption id="attachment_3560" align="aligncenter" width="482" caption="A dream home by the lake in Okoboji, IA"][/caption]

with the ability to do this on a regular basis:

[caption id="attachment_3561" align="aligncenter" width="482" caption="Heading back to the dock to hang out after a lovely boat ride."][/caption]

to Sarah that doesn't matter. In her mind, and her perspective, this simple little cabin is our "summer home."

[caption id="attachment_3562" align="aligncenter" width="482" caption="At the cabin at Okoboji Summer Theatre 2010."][/caption]

To Nathan this place is

"like going back for a family reunion after not seeing them for a while."

It is a place to focus purely on doing good theater and quality work without other things interfering. In some ways, then, to Nathan it is a home, but it is also a job and an experience that he values every year.

My perspective becomes a little more complicated. If this is a family reunion, then I am the awkward black sheep relative--the one who wants to make her way into the family circle and does not know how.  I recognize and value the wonderful creative atmosphere of this place, as well as the work ethic. I crave to be allowed to contribute to this work using the skills I bring with me, because I do have the talent to participate on an equal level.  But, for a number of complicated reasons, I don't feel that I have a role or a position to play here, beyond being part of this extended family. So, from my perspective, I can't quite call it a summer home of my own--rather it is closer to the summer home that I hold in my dreams but have yet to really achieve.

I know that I'll never achieve the true dream summer home, which requires an inflow of money that could only happen if I win the lottery. But I wonder if, with a slight change of perspective, I can begin to see this place as simply OUR SUMMER HOME.

Only time will tell.

What kinds of things do you think change depending on the perspective?

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Today's Quote:

"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." Marcus Aurelius 

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