Full Circle Lake Lover

It's 1993 and I'm in high school in Georgia. My girlfriends and I all have our licenses, finally. It's the weekend and we all know exactly where we are headed – the lake.

Growing up in Peachtree City, Wedowee was just a short drive over the border. My best friend's parents had a modest little place here at the lake and we were always invited. I remember just walking in, at any given time, doors unlocked, people down at the water or out on the boat. We just showed up. Of course we didn't have cell phones or GPS to get us here. Somehow we just A. knew when we would be heading over and B. knew exactly how to arrive driving down backroads, roads with no names, roads with no reflectors, and roads with no shoulders. We just went to Franklin and turned right!

Walking into that lake house, we were right at home. We ate right out of the refrigerator, drank straight out of the wine box (hey it was the 90's), and walked right down to the lake to jump in. Half the time we snuggled on the hammock in the heat. Other times we would attempt to water ski. I'm pretty sure we jumped off heights into the water. We even took at least one trip to a lake island for camping where I distinctly remember the biggest katydid I've ever seen sharing my tent AND her dad throwing fireworks into the campfire while we were sitting around it. Let's just say that was the LAST time we camped there.

Time always felt slower here, the water cooler here, the heat hotter here, and the skies bluer here. Mostly I remember our laughter and our jokes and our time together against the perfect backdrop in southern summers.

Fast forward a handful of years (ok more than a handful) and I still marvel that we live here. I think of being 16 and driving down winding dark roads to leave the city life behind with gal pals, knowing exactly how to get where we were going like we could feel our way here. I still have the same exhilarating feeling when our friends take us out on their boats and the wind is in our hair. I still have the same feeling of sheer delight when I dive in the water from the dock like we did when we were teens – without a care in the world. I still feel like time slows down here. I still soak in the quiet when looking at the stars and the milky way in the darkest sky void of city lights.

Wedowee is a special place and I sometimes can't believe that I had the opportunities I did when I was younger to visit here and that we have the good fortune to live here and raise our own teens now. Thank you, Lord!

By: Angie Stryker