My Happy Place

Have you ever been in a yoga or meditation class where you are instructed to close your eyes, relax, and in your mind go to your "happy place"?  A place where you can totally let go of the world and find calm and peace?  A place where all is well?  I inevitably go to the same place every time.

Growing up in Burlington, Vermont was ideal for me.  Even though it was the largest "city" in Vermont, it was safe for school children to walk the streets alone, even at a pretty young age.  From the time I was in kindergarten,  I walked to school alone.  We rode our bikes on sidewalks all over the city alone.  We walked downtown alone.  Basically,  we had freedom from our parents long before kids do nowadays.  If we wanted to go somewhere,  we didn't need to ask for a ride.  We just walked or rode bikes.

This made it easy for me to "get away" from it all whenever I felt the need.  And what could be more convenient than a beautiful lake just a few blocks away!

Rather than going to the busy waterfront,  I would always go this quieter spot.  We used to call it "Cliffside" but now it has been officially named Oakledge Park.  There was a small beach, but mainly there were a lot of large rocks on which to sit and contemplate.  It was easy to find a place of your own  to sit or lay, listen to the waves lapping against the rocks, sleep, read, do homework.  During the day,  the sun warmed you and the rocks.  In the evening, the sunset mesmerized you as you gazed across the lake at the Adirondack mountains.

I couldn't even begin to count the hours I have spent in this spot,  my "happy place".  I have always been a lover of solitude.  I enjoy my own company, not feeling the need to constantly be surrounded by people.   What better place is there to be alone with my thoughts than this?

After moving away to Connecticut after college,  I never really found another "happy place" quite like this one.  I would visit it almost every time I went home, but rarely was I alone anymore.

 I introduced Vance to this place early on in our relationship and we would come here together,  but I knew it didn't have the same meaning to him.  He is not the type to sit and "contemplate".

When the kids were young, they loved to come here and climb on the rocks.

They were always happy here.

When their cousins visited from Alaska,  my sister and I brought them here to swim.

And after my father's funeral, guess where my sister and I went with all of the kids?

 It was a cold, bleak day, but it still brought a feeling of warmth and peace to all of us.

I know that as long as I live, this beautiful spot will always be a source of peace, calm, and healing.

Everyone needs a "happy spot".

Do you have one?  If so,  I would love to hear about it.
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