2023 is coming to a close, and as I prepare for the year ahead, I’m spending some time reflecting on this year’s journey and I thought I'd share my story. The most asked question I get is..."What is Oakham Mount?"
If you know me well, you know that I LOVE Jane Austen. While she is critically acclaimed in the literary community as a prolific novelist during her time for many reasons, I fell in love with her words. She has an incredible ability to paint a full picture full of life and emotion and over 100 years later, it still speaks to my soul. Of her work, my favorite novel is Pride and Prejudice - which I have read and reread many times over the years. The aptly titled story is an amazing depiction of life and relationships with all of their corresponding highs and lows. It also tells the story of my favorite literary character of all time, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bennet. She is steadfast in her beliefs, passionate, curious, dedicated to her family and light-hearted with a serious sense of adventure. Maybe most importantly, she is a lover of nature. One of her favorite places to walk to in P&P is called Oakham Mount - it's there that she contemplates life, finds peace and recharges her soul. I can often picture myself in this image - taken from the 2005 adaptation with Keira Knightley.
When I decided to lean into my own passion, I realized quickly that I've always been in pursuit of My Oakham Mount - more importantly, I realized that it's not a place...it's a state of mind. This is where the Living comes in. Regardless of what the project is, my desire is to help people live with intention as they invite me on their journey to find their own Oakham Mount.
But - as beautiful as the British countryside may be, this year I realized that I've always had my own Oakham Mount and it's right here, right where I grew up...on the water. I grew up the daughter of a sailor on the sailboat he built - a 43 foot long steel sailboat that could sleep 8, The Windzang (Dutch for Wind Song).
Since both of my parents were teachers, we'd spend summers living on the boat - sailing off to our next adventure. From mooring at Pt. Abino across Lake Erie in Canada and diving on a Robert Fulton shipwreck to traveling the Erie Canal into the Finger Lakes and sailing across Lake Ontario and up the St. Lawrence, we were unplugged, we explored and had incredible adventures.
The Bowsprit pictured above was where I lived, dangled my feet in the water, crashed into waves to be dunked in the water, snuggled with a good book to read and just generally contemplated my life, the future and the incredible changing landscape around me. On rough days, it was also where I learned to keep my eyes trained on the horizon.
I spent summers here with my family, played endless card games and learned how to work with my hands. It was one of my first lessons in hard work - we'd spend summers grinding the hull and repainting, refinishing the teak handles along the cabin top, helping dad as he tended to all the mechanical parts of the engine room, listened to the endless sounds of the welder as he was always making adjustments and literally swabbed the decks. The smell of grinding steel still brings me right back to those early summer days getting ready to launch for the season. I believe I gained sea legs first.
These are the experiences that shaped me, that taught me to expect the unexpected, the value of hard work and that anything is possible. I believe that it's here where I learned that its not about stuff...its about the experience and what you learn in the process.
While this is a large part of my Oakham Mount, it's not the whole story. You see, I also grew up right along the Hamburg Shoreline and we'd spend summers walking down the street to the beach. While we spent many a beautiful summer day wading in the water and splashing in the waves, this is where I began to gain an appreciation for Lake regardless of weather. You cannot recreate the amazing smell after a summer rain, or the ice and sand dunes that form during winter storms being the perfect place to play. I've been collecting shale, stones, beach glass and driftwood since my hands were big enough to carry it home. It's a beautiful depiction of an ever changing landscape that somehow has always remained the same.
It's a constant reminder to me to embrace life in all of its seasons and weather.
When I'm here, my soul is home.
This is my Oakham Mount...but it's only half the story. The other part is where you take what you gain from your Oakham Mount and actively live. Imagine how much better our relationships would be, our workplaces would be and our homes would be if we lived each day with a little more intention than the last.
Whether you're stopping by just to visit or considering working together on a new construction or design project, thank you for spending some time with me here, I look forward to being a part of your story.
Just like our daughter (Lizzie) in this picture, let's have an adventure!
Lose yourself in nature and find peace. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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