THIS IS US

The Places Where We Make Our Memories

On the importance of gathering and tradition

Lake Michigan at dusk. Photo by author.

Whenever I think of Michigan, my olfactory memory kicks in first, flooding my nostrils with the musty odor of our cottage basement.

Each year, when I first descend down those basement steps, the odor smacks me in the face. It’s not unpleasant, just forceful…