Lake Front

This is the view that greets us when we sit in the living room at my parent's house. The lake. Peaceful and serene. A constant. This was my backyard as a child. Some kids couldn't wait for their license to drive a car, all I wanted was the chance to take the boat out for a spin. And I did take that boat out every single chance I got. Almost every day when I was old enough, I would go for a drive around the lake, by myself. It was a quiet time for me. Flying across the glassy water with the wind in my hair (I'm sure I've mentioned my love of wind at this point, maybe one hundred times), that was a very special time for me. And my parents trusted me with the responsibility of driving the boat. I was taught how to pull up to the dock and also how to drive it into the boathouse. Those simple tasks gave me a sense of independence and confidence.

Most evenings in the Spring, after softball practice, my Dad and I would go down to the dock for a ski. He would pull me slalom skiing around our cove and then I would pull him. On our lake, there were rarely ever any other boats out, so we could get by pulling one another without a spotter. I did have a small habit of forgetting to keep tabs on him at times though. He was such a good skier and never crashed. So every now and then, I would look back to see the rope dangling and my Dad waving his ski in the air for me to come back for him. But like I said, we were always the only boat on the water.

Tonight I wanted to blip this view. Everyone asks me if I miss the lake terribly now that I live in the city. Yes. I do miss the lake every day but I had my entire childhood there. I appreciated it at the time just as much as I appreciate it now. This lake is a huge part of me. My husband proposed to me on this lake. A year later we got married on this lake. We wake boarded away from our reception. Everything about this place has my name written all over it in bold capital letters. And that is why I am able to smile and say, "Yes of course I miss the lake, but it's just a short drive away. It's always there waiting for me". And it is. And now I am watching my own children fall in love with the place that captured my own heart so long ago.