If you grew up having a boat, have lived on a lake or have been a boat owner for most of your life, chances are you have lake water in your blood. Thus, you are probably classified by society as a "lake person" or a part of the "lake people." You know you are a lake person if...
1. You have a lot of friends and people are very nice to you.
Especially in the summer months. You've figured out that your seasonal popularity is due to your boat ownership. People want friends with boats, not one for themselves because they've probably heard you complain about the numerous times you have to repair your boat.
2. You wave to everyone, whether you know them or not.
This is a societal norm out on the pond. There is no such thing as a stranger when everyone is having a good time out on the lake. Boat ownership fosters a unique sense of unity.
3. You drove a boat before you drove a car.
Your first time behind the wheel was on the water and you might have been as young as 4 or 5 years old. However, you learned quickly that driving a boat is nothing like driving a car.
4. You know how to wear a life jacket like a pair of pants.
Swimming and socializing in the water is more comfortable when you are floating diaper style.
5. You've slept in your swimsuit... multiple times.
The sun, water, and other lake-like elements can leave you feeling zonked. Sometimes, you're just too tired to care about changing into real clothes. Besides, if you sleep in your swimsuit you're ready to resume your activities as soon as you wake up.
6. You've seen more couples argue on a boat ramp than on Jerry Springer.
A true test of a relationship is backing a boat into the water for the first time. People really show their true colors when the truck is about to plunge into the lake or when their boat falls off the trailer.
7. You have a “lake pair" of everything.
You know not to bring really nice possessions to the lake. Either you've learned this lesson the hard way or just ask yourself “could I wear or bring this to the lake" before you buy anything.
8. Peeing in the lake is perfectly normal.
If you're a polite lake person, you probably swim around 10 yards away from your friends before you drain the tank. You've most likely used the excuse, “Oh wow, the water is warmer right here. I must be in a shallow spot."
9. No shoes, no shirt, no problem, and you probably have a raccoon tan-line from your sunglasses.
The bottoms of your feet are immune to just about any temperature thanks to all the times you've shuffled across a radiating dock.
10. There is a cove for every occasion.
There's a party cove, a fishing cove, a cove for water sports, a family cove, a romantic cove and you know exactly where they are at. You just tend to avoid public beaches.
11. You know who Jimmy Buffet and Alan Jackson are.
If you don't know these two names then you're not really a lake person.
12. Your boat is a hydration station.
It gets hot out there on the water so you know how to keep your body's cooling system in check. Your boat has probably held the same amount of Bud Light, water, Gatorade, and home-made margaritas as it has in gallons of gasoline.
13. You know how to get back up again after you fall down.
You've been thrown off a tube, wiped out on a wakeboard and taken spills on skis some many times that you could not even begin to count them all. Nevertheless, you learn from your mistakes, laugh it off and get right back to it.
14. You accept and love things for how they are.
Despite your boat (that always seems to something wrong with it) your nutty family members, irrational friends or crazy neighbors, you know deep down you wouldn't trade any of them in for anything. They have given you a lifetime of stories, laughs, and lessons that can only be learned out on the lake.
