Boats, vessels of freedom
Harbors of healing
Boats
— Kenny Chesney

There’s just something special about spending weekends on the water.
It’s something I look forward to every year, that little change in the weather that signals summer is coming. Lazy days spent watching all the worries of the world drift away as you cruise along the water. Listening to music and laughter, memories being made with every cannon ball splash.

That’s what I love the most.

Lake Trips

We spend a lot of our summer at the lake. It’s a short drive and a guaranteed good time. Our cul-de-sac of lake houses is always busy with people coming and going. Friends, cousins, neighbors popping over to say hello, share a beer or borrow some bait. The kids are always smiling and sunburnt, sneaking in the house to grab a soda or snack before heading back out to the sandpile or swimming off the dock. It’s so simple, so easy, you feel like time must run a little slower there.

I love that my kids get to experience this side of life. It’s one of the reasons we decided to leave the city life and settle down in North Carolina. Getting to see them grow up surrounded by uncles, aunts, cousins and all the people we call family in this one place. I know it’s something they’ll look back on and cherish the same way I do.

Boat Life

And I love that my phone is filled with photos of sunburned cheeks and sandy feet. Those splashes getting a little bigger each year, the fearlessness and bravery grows with every inch. Doggy paddles turn to dare to see who can swim the farthest. Wading the waterline turns into water skiing and riding jet skis. But they’re never too old to surrender to the sweetness a sunset boat nap.