I watched intently as hundreds of tall, skinny, bright green trees passed by through the car window. I was hot, tired, and anxious. Being only 5 years old, that 3 hour car ride felt like a whole day. I knew that when we hit the dirt roads that we were getting close. I was glad that I knew how close we were, because if I asked my dad “How close are we?” one more time this trip, I would regret it. My sister was asleep on the seat beside me, listening to her extremely loud  music. I always wondered how someone could sleep when their eardrums were being blown out. I heard the heavy panting of my nervous dog on the seat between my sister and I. I could see the slimy, gooey spit that had been falling from her mouth the whole ride there. My heart started beating fast as I sat up taller to see the water. There it was, Tee Lake.

“Finally!” I said as I saw the rising sun shine down on the still water.

“Now, Claire, make sure you give hugs to both Aunt Kelly and Uncle Joe before you go off to play with Shane.” My mom warned me.

“ I know, I know.” I said. “Why do we even call them my Aunt and Uncle if we aren’t related to them?”

“Well, Claire, because I have known your Uncle Joe since I was a boy ‘bout your age. We went to high school together, then college, and we even lived together for many years.” My dad said as he smiled, reminiscing on his younger days.

We had finally wrapped around the lake and reached the cabin. My dad drove slowly down the bumpy driveway while honking obnoxiously. My sister sat up and pulled out her headphones. As soon as the car stopped, I whipped my seat belt off, opened the car door and jumped down on to the hard dirt. As I shut the door, my Uncle Joe came and picked me up. He always gave the tightest hugs. As the hug went on, I got worried about the end part. Uncle Joe never ended a hug without rubbing his rough, scratchy beard on my cheek, sending me into uncontrollable giggles.

Then Aunt Kelly came and picked me up, her hugs were loving, like you could feel how much she missed me. When she went to hug me it felt like a big, warm, welcoming blanket had been wrapped around my shoulders. “Hi sweetheart, I missed you so much!” she squealed.

“I missed you too Aunt Kelly.”

Once I was back on the ground, I looked around, watching as my friends and family gave big bear hugs to each and every person. Evan, their oldest son, came up behind me and picked me up, lifting me high into the air. I was set down but soon become a victim of a tickling monster.

“Hey, stop that, cut it out.” I slowly said in between laughs.

When I got my breathe back, I made my way over to Shane. Shane was a little younger than me but I treated him like my brother.

“What’s up C-dawg?” Shane said

“Hey Shae!”

We come together and did our secret handshake that always left us laughing. Our parents smiled at us as we made our way inside. Unpacking was the worst part, but we knew that the faster we finished it, the sooner we could play. After what felt like hours, Shane and I changed into our swimsuits and ran back outside. We turned the handle to the garage, held it tight, then pushed the door as hard as we could. It finally swung open and we each grabbed a bike.

“I’ll race you down to the lake” Shane said.

“Are you sure you are ready to lose to a girl?” I asked.

“Oh, you are so on!”

We jumped on our old bikes and started down the hill that led to the lake. The wind rushed past me and blew my curly mess of hair in every direction. We zipped in between two trees and got to the sand. The wheels spun slower as they splashed us into the ice cold water. Finally the wheels got stuck and we tipped over into the lake. I came up from under the water and started to burst out laughing, soon joined by Shane.

“Haha, Claire, I totally beat you.”

“ Did not, Shane,” I said laughing, “Hey! Wanna go again?”

I slowly moved my feet through the sandy water searching for my sunken bike. Finally my leg hit it and I used all my strength to pick it up. We walked back up the the driveway, hopped on, and started again. It wasn’t much, but it kept us entertained all day.

“ Claire, Shane, it’s time for dinner.” Yelled Aunt Kelly.

We climbed up the giant wood stairs to the deck. Our wet feet left foot prints with every step.  The smell of cooked burgers, cheesy potatoes and bow-tie pasta salad, hit us suddenly.

“Mhmm!! I am so hungry and that smell is making me even hungrier” said Shane as he whipped the screen door open. It quickly slammed behind us.

Dinner was good but I was ready for the campfire. I put on jeans, an oversized sweatshirt that I could wear as a dress, and grabbed my blanket. I slowly made my way down the deck and to the campfire.

“Evan, can I sit on your lap?” I whispered.

“Of course, hop on up.”

I snuggled in with my blanket, getting comfortable. The parents had drinks in their hand; kids, soda. We all had smiles on our faces and music running through our ears. The whole night consisted of quick hide-and-seek games, campfire games and storytelling. My favorite campfire game was the “name game”. It was fun for the parents because they made it into a drinking game but watching everyone struggle with thinking of names made Shane and I laugh. As the night went on, and the campfire started to die, the parents got more alive. It felt like we were the only people out there. I could only see the faces of the people from the light of the fire but everything else was pitch black, but it felt like nothing else mattered because I was surrounded by people I love. Some nights we would stay out until 2am talking about anything and everything. Country and old school music was always playing, the fire never died out because the boys always keep it alive and we never ran out of crazy stories or new ideas that we’d laugh at in the morning. Shane and I always fell asleep on someone’s laugh but refused to go inside with the fear of being left out of the fun. We’d all slowly make our way inside and tucking into the stiff beds with the fluffy blankets. Most of us would sleep in way too long, trying to gain back the sleep we lost.

“Good morning sleepy head,” we all said to Aunt Kelly, the last one up most of the time.

Most mornings we would sit and laugh about the crazy things that were said or done around the fire. Some of them were embarrassing for people and some of them, we still talk about to this day. Those days at Tee Lake will always be some of my favorite memories and campfire smell will always be my favorite smell. Lake houses, campfires and virgin daiquiris will always take me back to those memories that I will never forget. We don’t go up there as often as we used to but when we do, it seems like nothing has changed. The cabin on Tee Lake with always remind me of the times when there wasn’t anything more important than when we could go out on the boat again. Being so young and being surrounded by people who loved me allowed me to be myself without judgement. We were always in the present, in the moment. I look back on those days and reminisce on wanting to be in the present with everything I do. I also try to gain back the feeling of being myself without the fear of someone judging me. I also realize how important it is to surround yourself with people who want to be with you and make you laugh as much as they can. Nothing compares to being around family and friends, not doing much, but enjoying all the time you get with them. The Tee Lake cabin will always feel like home to me, and so will the people who made going to the cabin so great for me.