After the 4th of July

On the drive home from "the lake", our home away from home on the Tennessee River, sister mentioned the inevitable reality check once you've arrived back home. "At the lake, you're in a bubble with your family away from the hustle and bustle and schedules of real life. You get home, and it's back to being busy and running all over the place all the time." 

She nailed it. In a world where wifi and fast food restaurants don't exist, the lake is our haven away from reality. Where the smell of lake water welcomes and encourages you after the twisty roads. Where the sun melts across your face while you read The Fault in Our Stars on the front porch with your feet kicked up. Where you laugh out loud while tubing because you've been repeatedly assaulted by the water's splashes. Where you eat every meal and spend every moment together with your whole family and you thank God for the blessing that that is. Where you make memories in the house, or the boat, or the golf cart that'll light up a smile on your face any time you think back on those sweet times.

Of course it's always nice to come home, especially for a homebody like me, but thankfully the magic of a place that lacks a dose of reality is just a drive away.