My Path to Lake Edun
Sheri
My first naturist experience happened as a direct result of my reentry into the dating world and my sarcastic wit. I met a man online, who has since become a true friend of mine, and we were engaging in that initial communication period in which two people are getting to know each other. I don’t remember what we were discussing at that particular moment, but I ended my text with the words, “I should be a nudist.” I almost fell off my chair laughing when I got his response…..“I am a nudist.”
Obviously, I didn’t run the other way at his admission. We talked about the naturist/nudist lifestyle and his experiences at Lake Edun and other similar venues. I asked a lot of questions and did a lot of internet searches on the subject. I learned the difference between a true naturist/nudist facility and an “alternative lifestyle” naturist/nudist facility. (To be honest, I was shocked that Kansas, a state in the middle of the Bible Belt, has as many options as we do.) I was unsure about attending a naturist venue with someone I was dating, but someone I hadn’t been intimate with. (I felt I understood how a couple could attend together, but how did you attend with someone who had never seen you naked before??) None of the questions I asked, information I gathered, or questions my friend answered scared me away; in fact, just the opposite. I eventually began to wonder why I was as comfortable with the idea as I was. Eventually, memories found their way into focus: my mom running around our apartment naked (it was just her, my sister, and I growing up); my fascination with the nude body when I found my dad’s Playboy stash; my admiration of the nude body in art; my ex-husband making the comment during our early years of marriage, “You are always running around naked.” The more I thought about it, the more I realized I was comfortable with the idea because I had never been taught otherwise. Body acceptance was not something that was specifically taught or focused on at that time, but I was raised in a house that was just naturally accepting. I had been taught that I could do anything I set my mind to, to be “me,” and to always be open to new experiences. After a couple of months of bantering the idea back and forth, I decided that the naturist lifestyle was something I wanted to explore.
We scheduled my first visit to Lake Edun for a weekday afternoon so there wouldn’t be as many people there. (I wasn’t brave enough to jump straight into the “middle of the lake,” per se, and go on a Saturday afternoon, so I “waded in from the side.” As you will read about soon, my younger sister outdid me on this one and jumped straight into the “middle of the lake.”) Because we would be arriving from different directions, my friend and I set a time to meet at the lake. I pulled into the parking lot, relieved to realize that he was already there…..and then realized he hadn’t even waited for me to get there and had already gone up to the barn without me!!! (I may have been comfortable with the idea of visiting Lake Edun, but that isn’t to say that actually visiting the lake for the first time wasn’t a little unsettling and nerve-racking.) I parked the car and went to start up the trail to the barn, only to realize that there were two different trailheads leading out of the parking lot…..and I had no idea which one to take!!! (I did not know at the time that they both led to the barn.) So, I made a choice and headed off…..muttering under my breath the entire way, grateful that I at least still had my clothes on!!! When I reached the barn, I found my friend and another member standing at the barn, naked as jaybirds, chatting away like it was perfectly normal to be standing around naked talking to people!!! (That is something I now do.)
We spent the afternoon walking the trails around the lake and playing in the water. There was a maintenance crew out there that afternoon, and I’d always make sure my friend was between me and the worker whenever we crossed paths. (There was no way I wanted someone staring at my naked butt!!!) When we reached the south beach for the first time, there was only one individual there…..which was still one too many for me to be comfortable with, so we ended up walking around the entire lake. When we came back around to the beach, I was finally comfortable enough to walk down to the water. (The guy was asleep. I was sure of it!) Once I got in the water, I knew I’d found my place. For those of you that have skinny-dipped before, you know exactly what I mean. For those of you that haven’t, you have no idea what you are missing!!! I was so at peace in the water that when the man on the beach joined us in the water, it seemed perfectly natural to start up a conversation.
Although I didn’t get back out to the lake that season (it was August by the time I ventured out there the first time), I’d started down a path that would change my life. In April 2020, covid had changed the way we were living our lives. I’d become a remote employee (which I loved), but I was tired of being cooped up inside all the time; and yet, we weren’t supposed to be going anywhere. Given that there had only been two people at the lake when I went out in August and it was an outdoors venue, I took a chance, texted my friend, and told him I was going out to the lake again. It was another weekday afternoon, so my friend and I had the lake pretty much to ourselves. The solitude and the serenity that Lake Edun offered completely offset the crazy of the “real world.” I spent almost every Thursday afternoon out at the lake last summer. I finally found the courage to venture out to the lake on a Sunday afternoon, and then a Saturday afternoon. I didn’t visit the lake as a social outing, but as a place to unwind and regroup, which people seemed to understand. Everyone was friendly, but they left me to my own devices and didn’t intrude when I found a quiet spot alone on the beach or when I wandered around on the trails. Eventually, I met a couple of individuals who have become friends, became involved in a project on the north beach that expanded my “crowd” even more, met and became involved with a man I met out there (another story, in and of itself), and somehow got elected to the Board of Directors. I’ve visited three additional nudist venues, all AANR resorts (you have to get used to taking showers outside), talked my sister into exploring the naturist lifestyle (you will be able to read her story soon), piqued the interest of a couple of my friends (although not enough to attempt a visit yet), and even told my teenage kids (who are supportive of, but in no way interested in naturism) about the lake and my involvement with it. I’ve seen bodies of all sizes and shapes and am totally amazed and humbled at the acceptance and strength seen in the world of naturism. Our bodies are awesome!! They carry us through our journey, some in better shape than others, but all of them magnificent in what they have accomplished.
About Sheri: a gypsy soul, part hippie, a true believer in the quote, “Life is a journey, not a destination,”
and a mom to two absolutely fantastic and unique individuals.
