Imagine Paradise (Kate Donovan)

raft in the water in front of my lake house in the early morning

Imagine waking up in the morning to find a majestically blue lake with a surface smooth as butter. As you walk outside into the crisp air, you see a loon gracefully floating by the raft in the water. The morning climate is a bit chilly, although the refreshing temperature is nothing that a light sweatshirt cannot combat. The lake is tranquil as the sun’s rays streak across the sky and even better than the sight is the feeling that you do not have any responsibilities or requirements for the amazing summer day ahead.

Imagine yourself sitting on the dock overlooking the lake with a delicious breakfast of fresh blueberries, surrounded by family members ranging from your favorite little cousins to your beloved grandparents. Your uncle and your little brother are fishing off the dock, calmly taking in the beautiful surroundings, creating memories that will last forever.  Your sister and cousin are seen gracefully rowing along the shore in red and yellow kayaks.

Imagine the afternoon, the sun bright and warm in the cerulean sky. The water surface is now a continuous ripple as motor boats and jet skis create patterns of disturbance across the lake. You are on the raft, playing King of the Raft with your cousins, kids being thrown off the raft left and right by your childlike uncle. Your father brings out the Skull, a large inner tube that delivers wild rides behind the boat. He takes you and all of your cousins out on the boat to add to the ripples across the lake, driving the boat in tight doughnuts to make larger waves for a better ride, making it his goal to throw at least one kid off of the tube by the end of the day. As you wait for your turn on the tube, you sit at the front of the boat, the wind blowing your hair every which way, creating large knots, although you do not currently care because they can be untangled later. You are laughing so hard that tears form in your eyes, a combination of the jovial atmosphere and the strong wind.

Imagine the day of laughter and carelessness has almost come to an end. The sun is beginning to set so you get in your final game of King of the Raft. When the water is just right, like a sheet of glass, you strap on your life jacket and your Papa drives the boat in a loop around the lake so you can have a perfect run of water skiing. Exhausted from the full, exciting day, you slowly climb up the steps to the dinner that awaits. Your family sits around the table on the porch, enjoying delicious hamburgers cooked specially on the grill by your uncle. You all watch as the sun sets over the lake and distant mountains, streaking the sky with pinks and purples. However, instead of an end, the sunset is just the next step towards another amazing day.

sunset view from  the porch of my lake house

Imagine paradise. If you can imagine all of this, you have successfully created a mental picture of my paradise, my favorite place in the world: my family lake house on Thomas Pond.

To find out more about Thomas Pond, click here. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me!