Introducing Mallard Lodge

A new era for our family and our biggest project yet...

If you’ve read my posts before, you may recall me mentioning “Camp,” our umbrella name for the lakefront property that’s been in Mack’s family for over a century—and that is very much not a camp at all these days. I shared the story here and also recounted some childhood memories from my own family’s version, “The Cottage”, in this post.

I also recently mentioned that Mack’s father passed away late last year, and that we all had challenging relationships with him. I’ve alluded to the complicated dynamics, but in spite of them, our family of five has been able to maintain a presence on the property over the years due to pre-established parameters.

In 2012, Mack’s father knocked down his grandmother’s small cottage we were staying in and built the structure in the photo above. Since then, we’ve called the ‘80s-era log cabin on the property our weekend home for more than a decade. During that time, we have walked on eggshells to try to maintain what sense of peace we could, and create as many good memories as possible. And we have successfully made many.

That’s not to say that it was always comfortable, relaxing, or mentally healthy. We—inevitably—cracked a few of those eggshells along the way, perceived or real.

Without going too far into the weeds, I’ll explain it this way: it was like spending 14 years of weekends in an AirBnb with a long and ever-changing set of rules and penalties. There was even a “warden” with a clipboard who would do surprise inspections, an outside force with murky intentions.

Good fodder for a future novel, at least.

As frustrating and exhausting as it all could be sometimes—and there were many times it was tempting to just retreat—it was important, particularly to Mack and our children and their family’s legacy there, to maintain ground. And ultimately, they were right.

After Mack’s father passed away, stewardship of the property passed to him, which includes all of the buildings.

It’s a complicated mix of emotions. There’s gratitude that we have this opportunity, along with some resentment and hurt for the past events. The healing will take some time and work, but overall, we’re choosing to focus on what comes next.

And we’ve collectively, as a family, decided to start our healing process with a dumpster and a paint sprayer. Two of my favorite things, honestly.

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And that brings us to Mallard Lodge. Our previous relationship with this building is obviously complex, but renaming something is the first step to changing the narrative around it. We chose Mallard Lodge because the ducks are a constant presence on the property and serve as a kind of timeline of the summer. First we get the pairs, then around July 4th we get the mothers with their fluffy little chicks, and then by the time summer is nearing its end, you can’t tell who is who. Mack also has fond memories of a duck bath curtain that was a staple in the original camp for his entire childhood, and I’ll be doing my best to find something that can be a tribute to that.

As for the building itself, it’s my biggest challenge yet. Literally—it’s 7,500+ square feet, and choices were made during the original “design” and build. Not to mention the scale. It’s difficult to wrap your head around. Essentially, it’s a massive wooden box. I have a lot of ideas, but a limited budget and short timeline before the summer season begins.

This isn’t just a straightforward renovation for us. It’s our family reclaiming the potential for a happy place—one that can continue to make memories for generations to come. It’s going to be emotional and complex. We feel incredibly lucky—and also overwhelmed. We seem to be uncovering expensive “surprises” almost daily that we’re now responsible for fixing. That’s why I wanted to give you the context while still maintaining some privacy.

I’ll always share pieces of the project publicly, but the full makeover series (plans, mood boards, progress, and behind-the-scenes updates) will be for paid subscribers after this post. Years ago, I would have documented a project like this on the blog with ads alongside it. Now, reader support here on Substack makes this kind of detailed storytelling possible, and as always, I appreciate your patronage!

And truly, I can’t wait to share it. Not just the before-and-after moments, but the small ones in between. The first room that finally feels calm, the first summer morning with coffee on the porch, the first time it starts to feel like ours. Mallard Lodge is part of our family story now, and I’m so grateful to be the one who gets to help write what comes next.

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