As I write these words, the water is still and the air is cool as the sun rises slowly on the horizon.
The body is rested, the mind at peace. My family is here with me, as are so many good friends. This is good. This is as it should be.
So begins the promise of a new day in life’s ultimate paradise, The Lake.
I could stay here forever, you know.
It’s a place to enjoy earth’s spectacular ampi-theater, to watch nature’s magnificent show, and to enjoy with the same innocence as a child who learns to feed himself dry Cheerios at the kitchen table. Some things you can’t get enough of.
This is a place of ambiance, beauty and tranquility. It’s of rest, relaxation and renewed perspectives.
Life has purpose. People are good. The eyes have a reason to smile.
The Lake is a special place. Like no other place. It is literally another world. This is where one’s soul gets a straight connection to God, getting a fill up on all that matters most in life.
Can you just feel the stress leave my body?
Today we’ll all get in the boat to go somewhere. Where, exactly, isn’t known, for The Lake knows no plans. Any paper carrying any agenda is burned on site. Day planners in particular are outlawed.
Along the way, we will encounter all sorts of other lake lovers who will wave and smile and offer us anything we need, for The Lake attracts those kinds of people. They are one body. All with the same love. Where economic classes disappear. And where, heaven sakes alive, a Bengal fan can break bread with a Steeler fan.
When the Bible talks about heaven on earth, it must have The Lake in mind. All the biggies are practiced here – forgiveness, patience, and, in more ways than one, turning the other cheek.
Someone tell me ‘Amen.’
As for when all of this will begin to happen, I can’t tell you when exactly, for the The Lake isn’t governed by standard time. In fact I think it’s a misdemeanor to even carry a watch here, and a felony to look at it.
We will do what we want, when we want to, and not a second sooner.
The Lake this week is Norris Lake, Tenn., with a million other Springboro families who just happen to be here (thank you to the Lambs, Stachlers, Lindholz’s, Johnsons, Coys and Schepers, and many others), but it could just as well be Indian Lake or Caesar Creek Lake, or countless others. We’ve had morning walks around the lake, afternoon boating sessions in the lake, then evening get-togethers around the lake.
I’ve never seen all these people so happy before.
Why is it we can’t live like this back in Springboro?
We need to come here more often. We’ve told stories, laughed at jokes and let our minds wander to times when they were simpler. We’ve spent quality time with our children, talked about the Reds and Bengals and Panthers and Buckeyes, and wondered if one day we all will move.
To the lake, of course.
In time this day will end, to the sound of crickets as they echo across the water. Our skin will be even tanner, our bodies tired but not weary, and we turn in for a good night’s sleep – dreaming of another perfect day.
At life’s ultimate paradise, The Lake.