Getting home is a wonderful feeling, and the older you get the more you enjoy being at home.
Coming home in a boat if possible is even better. I am a water person. I love being out on the water, but no matter how much fun I am having on the water, it is always a sweet moment when I throttle back the boat and turn at the Red Sixteen buoy for the short trip back to the dock.
When I cross the narrow gap between the river and our inlet, I know that I'm home. Sometimes the feeling is tangible. You can be slightly chilled or just plain cold from a high speed trip up the river, and the air in the inlet is like a warm blanket that wraps you in its embrace.
The wind can be blowing up a gale on the river and as soon as you get in our inlet there is no wind. You feel like God looked down and said they have had enough wind, you can stop now.
Then there is summer when the temperature is perfect out on the river. As the boat glides into the inlet, you are absolutely sure someone has stolen the inlet and replaced it with a sauna.
I have written before about the peace in our inlet and how living by the inlet provides such a quiet and natural place to live. Still I am amazed how wonderful the feeling is each and every time I return to the inlet in my boat.
The short ride from the river to our dock is the same area that I walk around each day in my hike through the marsh. The perspective is different when you are gliding along in a boat. Standing up in a center console boat provides a far better view than I get down close to the water from my kayak. Some of the birds who immediately fly away when I am on foot, completely ignore the boat.
Once I have gotten down to our dock, executed the needed u-turn, positioned the boat on the lift, and lifted the boat out of the water, I always have a look around and try to be thankful for the opportunity of living in such a wonderful place.
The only time of the day that rivals coming home in the boat is crawling into bed at night and easing my head back on my pillow. Leaning back on your own pillow is a pretty good way to end the day. If you have enjoyed a nice boat ride to add a little zest to your day, you can easily slip off into the land of sleep with visions of blue water and puffy white clouds in your mind's eye.
Now you know why I sleep so well. When my head hits the pillow, it is almost like those days when we lived on the farm.
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