My title is influenced by Frida Kahlo’s What the Water Gave Me. Lake Michigan has a magnetic energy that pulls me in with every glance. I’m like a moth drawn to the flame. It is mesmerizing, energizing, and always inspiring. But despite my love for all things aquatic, this is the first year I saw the lake up close and personal in winter daylight. Frozen in time. Usually in a Chicago winter, the last place I go to visit is the beach. But with the COVID slowdown, I explored.
I came up the Division underpass. The snow contrasted with the happy pink. It cause me to pause in awe. The beach transformed into a movie set of Mars. A world so different than assumption. And it was an extraterrestrial delight.







And it caused me to think and reminisce about the Lake in general. I remember long bus rides along Lake Shore Drive, watching the dawning anticipation of a fresh day in the colors of the sunrise. I remember the curtains of pastel sunsets drawing the day to a close with such beauty it silenced an entire rush hour bus crowd. So I dug into my archives and found pictures of the lake at night from a few years ago along the Edgewater shore. What are your memories of Lake Michigan?

