Driving up the gravel road, the tires crushing as your heart beats excitedly. Standing on hot sand with a smile on your face. Looking out over a clear blue lake, taking in the houses and realizing that nothing has changed since you’ve left.
Everyone has been in love at some point in his or her life, but this is a different kind of love. Falling in love with a place fills up your heart with a sense of being home, no matter how long it’s been since you’ve left. A college town, a vacation spot or your favorite tree to read under in your own backyard, everyone has a place where they feel as though only good things happen.
1. Nothing Changes.
Time and time again you can return and your spot will not alter. Unlike falling in love with a person who is constantly growing and changing, falling in love with a location is a static, comforting kind of love. You can count on it to be there year after year, waiting to welcome you back with that butter pecan homemade ice cream you love.
2. You Can Only be Happy.
It seems as though no matter what mood you’re in when you return to this place, it’s replaced with happiness. The comfort and excitement of being home and surrounded by a landscape in which you could never feel lost opens up the mind to accept only pure, happy thoughts.
3. It’s Secret.
The best part about loving a place is the fact that it’s yours to share, if you want to. No one else can fathom how much you can care for a location, and unlike a significant other, it’s easy to never allow people to encounter this location. You can hide it all for yourself — an escape from life’s daily trials — to keep the public out and your spot serene.
4. The People Become Family.
If there are people that reside within your beloved place, then these people mean more to you than the world. They understand the beauty and special place that this location holds in your heart. They understand if you cry when you leave, how you count down the days until you return and the long-distance love affair you maintain with this place.
5. You Can Cheat.
More than one place can have your heart at a time without any repercussions. There’s enough space to adore the stained-glass library in Tuscany as well as the ivy-covered restaurants in Charleston. Even if you break your promise to come back every year, your place is waiting there for you with open arms like no time has passed when you do return.
White Birch Lodge in Elk Rapids, Michigan is the place that I’ve fallen in love with. Welcoming me home year after year, I’ve never been able to imagine my life without the stars that brightly shine over the lake.
Fall in love with a mountain range, leave your heart among the algae of a quiet pond. Find a place that will never hurt you and hold on, keeping the memories as fresh as the love at first sight you experienced.
