We’ve been up at our cabin the last two weekends working to get ready for the summer. We planted a bunch of new trees this year. We got out the kayaks, launched the jet ski, mowed the lawn, and did some beaver-proofing on our favorite trees. I removed four wheelbarrow loads of muck and weeds from the lake.

There are many downsides to owning a cabin, the obvious one being that we have an entire second home and property to maintain along with our primary house. And we’re dealing with new things that ten years of owning a home in a city didn’t prepare us for: well pumps and septic systems and docks and lake weed. When we’re at the cabin I worry about the house, and when we’re home I worry about the cabin.

One of the most unexpected benefits of the cabin is the change of scenery and change of pace.

Maybe this isn’t a surprise to the rest of you, but it was to me. I’m a homebody. I like not leaving my house and I like not leaving my neighborhood and I like not leaving my city. There’s a reason my family hasn’t done a ton of traveling, and that’s because I’m not a good traveler and I dislike planning trips. Why would we leave our house?! All of my favorite stuff and my favorite cheese and my cats and my books are at my house!

The cabin, it turns out, is the best of both worlds. It’s like traveling without the travel. I already have a toothbrush at the cabin, and my favorite Brandi Carlile sweatshirt and I know where we keep the silverware.

So packing is easy. Getting there is easy.

Being there is easy and comfortable in a way I didn’t think it would be.

I sit on the porch in the morning drinking my coffee and waiting for a visit from our neighborhood beaver. We try to keep device use to a minimum at the cabin, which means we play more board games and card games. When we sit around the fire in the evenings we look at each other instead of at our phone screens. The kids get one pop per day at the cabin as a special treat. If we stay up late enough we can see the Milky Way.

Honestly, sometimes it’s a little too much family time. And there are always chores and projects to be done. The bathroom at the cabin has to be cleaned too, you know. One winter the boiler failed spectacularly causing major damage.

So the cabin is not a vacation, and it can be stressful, but somehow it still feels refreshing to have gone to the cabin. It’s a very small departure from our every day, even with the small stresses that come with traveling on the weekends.

A little change is good.