I think insurance companies should
include in their coverage “mental health day.”
So for instance “X” number of days not to exceed a certain monetary
amount. We all need days away from the
“every day.” I might even save them
money in the long run. I had such a
mental health day recently – actually, I have been taking mental health days
for a long time. I find that when I am
surrounded by nature I feel better.
On my most recent mental health day I
went with a friend to Skaneateles Lake and took a ride on the Judge Ben
Wiles. The weather was perfect which was
amazing given the weather recently. As
soon as I stepped out of the car and looked at the lake I felt better. I sat on one of the many benches and
decompressed… ah… I could feel myself relax.
A lazy stroll past the many shops made walking along the street a
pleasure. I am not a shopper but
Skaneateles has many unique shops.
The Judge Ben Wiles is the flag ship of
the Mid-lakes Navigation
Company, a family-owned company that has been in business
for over 50 years. I am a real fan of
the Erie Canal and I have taken several of their canal day trips but this was
my first time on Skaneateles Lake. 
Skaneateles Lake is about 15 miles long
and a mile wide. The
Maximum depth is
about 300 but the village is at the shallow end. There is a beach near where we boarded the
Judge Ben Wiles and there was a dive boat heading out for some underwater
exploring. The lake is lined with
beautiful homes – mansions, really. Some of them have boat houses more elegant
than most people’s home. There
was a
time when I may have looked at such home and thought “maybe someday.” Now I think what a lot of work and I have
learned that just because someone lives in a beautiful home on a beautiful lake
that they have a wonderful life. But, it is fun to look at multi-million dollar
mansions and hear about their owners. The
one where former President Clinton and his wife stayed as been sold and is
being renovated. It was listed for 7.7 million.
