This statement is the opening "welcome" to my website and is a statement that I think applies to everyone. It doesn't matter if a person makes a living in the rat-race of the business world or stays at home to raise children, that person must be able to step away from his or her life to regenerate.
My place of escape is a quiet bayou harbor. The mirror slick surface of the black water and the swaying marsh grasses take me from season to season, not so much with changing colors, but with the wildlife it supports. Graceful herons, snowy white egrets, and crash-diving pelicans live alongside of alligators, blue crabs and playful otters. Thousands of minnows bring the water to life in the spring, and mullet jump across the water in summer and fall. It is my place of calm.
Today I'm retired and get to enjoy this setting everyday, but during my teaching career, by Friday afternoon, I needed to unwind, and my husband knew exactly what to do. He'd launch our small boat and take me on a cruise through the winding channels of the bayou. Sometimes we'd stay long enough to watch the sun set over the water, and by the time we were back at the dock, I felt revived and able to face my "real life."
Where do you go to regenerate? Is it a physical spot or is it only in your mind? If you can't physically get away, I hope you'll pick up a book and let yourself escape into a world where your problems are set aside for a few hours. Books are a wonderful "get-away." Emily Dickenson understood the value of books and compared them to a "frigate" that could take the reader "lands away." We may not be able to physically sail away to foreign lands, but we can travel across seas, across time and across continents through the pages of a book.
My husband still takes me on our bayou cruises, but when we can't do that, I can find that same elixir in the pages of a book or on the screen of my Kindle. I hope you too can find your own get-away as well.
Jealous and take me on the next one.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the rasons we became writers is becasue we did escape into books. That fueled our imaginations and our imaginations fueled our desire to share some wonderful stories.
Great post Fran!
You're right, Kathye. I, too, think at one time or another we all escaped into the pages of our books.
DeleteI love the description of the bayou escape. (And yes, I used to have a similar escape in a duck boat on the marsh in Virginia. I miss it.) Now, if I can get a few minutes with the bathroom door locked, I'm lucky. :) Maybe I'll have to find that duck boat again.
ReplyDeleteSofie, your duck boat sounds great, and I know the marshes of Virginia must be as relaxing as my little bayou here in Mississippi. Loved the "locked bathroom door" because when my children were young, I longed for a few minutes of privacy.
DeleteWe lived in south Louisiana (Baton Rouge) for two years, Fran, and I have to admit it took me a while to learn to appreciate the beauty of the bayou. It is very mysterious and can be frightening but, once you give yourself up to it, it is beautiful - a place of discovery. Your description is perfect, maybe the best I've ever read.
ReplyDeleteSandy, I have relatives in S. LA near New Iberia so I'm familiar with those bayous as well. I, too, had to have a love of the bayou grow on me. I was used to the Gulf and clear water and not the black waters I now live on, but after a time I learned to love the beauty of the bayou as well. Thanks for the comment
DeleteFran, your bayou is beautiful! You're really lucky to live in such a unique place. When I need to get away I read a book, preferably a historical.
ReplyDeleteFran, your descriptions of bayou wildlife spring to life! No wonderful you've deemed it your special place to refresh and restore.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sydell. I'm so glad you like my little part of the world that I really love. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteThanks for dropping by, Cara. One day you'll have to take one of our little cruises with Don and me.
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, you do know that I love a good historical as well.