Lake House Diaries 15

      The family dynamics took a turn after that meeting. There were changes blowing in the wind and perhaps the meeting was just the catalyst for something that may have been inevitable. The eldest son Greg Jr., had previously had a falling out with his father and then the brothers with whom he had been in business. He and his wife Lil and their girls were the family that used the Lake House the least of all of Greg and Ethel's children. His in-laws had a vacation property elsewhere and they seemed to prefer to spend time there. It did not make sense to him to pay a share of the expenses at the Lake House if he and his family were not there much. As a result, when Greg and Ethel passed on the property to all of their children, 6 couples, Greg decided to opt out soon after and insisted that his name be taken off of the title. 

      The others thought it was a rash decision, but the papers were finalized and then there were only 5 owners. The burden of responsibility was now on these 5 couples as Greg and Ethel were winding down their time there. Paul and his wife Hannah slowly took over the book-keeping and all the financial details that job entailed. All income and expenses were handled by Hannah and she did a great job. The issue of how much to charge the "campers" was often discussed as the expenses of running the property continued to climb. But discussions were no longer held at the Oroville meetings. In fact the Oroville meetings became a thing of the past when Paul declared that he was no longer calling meetings nor would he attend if there ever was one. He did not want to be "blind-sided again". 

    This left a few family members perplexed but business was still discussed via phone calls and emails. As time went by, certain topics and decision were only talked about by certain family members. For some unknown reason, Tod and Em were left out of the loop and would not be a part of the discussions, but decisions made by others were simply announced to them after the fact. Small fractures between individuals were not resolved but were left to fester and soon there were some real divisions. Of course, not knowing any of the disputes in the family, Greg would say to his children and grandchildren that he was so happy that he and Ethel had built the Lake House and that it was such a source of happiness and unity in the family. The enjoyment part was very true, but the unity was turning onto disunity, and it was mostly because of the Lake House. 

    The youngest son Rick and his wife Willa divorced themselves from the family and moved out of province. They still came for their week at the lake but would not so much as rub shoulders with any other family member. It seemed to be a continuation of the falling out he had with his brothers, similar to Greg Jr.'s. And then a decision was made that changed everything.