HAPPY PLACE. I hope everyone’s got a happy place. And I don’t just mean a happy place that is a house, although it can be that, but I’m envisioning any space; one or many, indoors or out, near or far that makes you feel some kind of way. A place that when you step into it peace washes over you — you arrive knowing that you will be welcomed by the walls that uphold it or the people among it. A place that you can go back to again and again knowing no matter how much you have changed, the place feels the same despite how it is aging too. Time has a funny way of moving like that — it can feel grounding returning to a place you’ve always known, only to realize you are the one that is different every go around. I think there’s comfort (and stability) we find in a happy place — not only because it may be an escape from every-day life, but because when the world is changing, we can return knowing we are free to be as we are.
If you know me, I’ve already referenced my happy place throughout these pieces: Northern Michigan. I’m a lake girl at heart — barefoot in a sundress, wine in hand, waterskiing at dusk or playing cards around the kitchen table. In the daylight, I sit on the dock reading in a wooden chair that feels a little too old to be sitting in while overlooking the mountain that quietly rests across the lake. I’m surrounded by the green trees and inhabitants of the lake, watching others sail or kayak up and down the lake front and the sweet taste and smell of fresh cherries and blueberry pie. It’s a place with decades of history, bathing suits of all ages hanging on the clothing lines, neighbors with stories, and a home that breathes life into those who have the chance to pass through its doors. My heart smiles knowing all the family and friends who’ve gotten to experience it too. This happy place feels like sunshine for the soul — lake life has always been my favorite life.
I hope everyone’s got a happy place — maybe it is your childhood home, but maybe it’s some streets you know like the back of your hand, wherever your pet wanders, the park you grew up playing in, or even the bed you crawl into at night. Maybe this place has changed throughout your life or what was once a happy place is now a memory in time, but you can still remember the way it made you feel.
No matter what it is, I hope it’s some place that makes you feel warm — everyone deserves a happy place.
Book Recommendation:
It would be fitting to recommend Emily Henry’s Happy Place — I’ve read it and others of hers, but they haven’t really done much for me other than being a quick beach read. I am however, a BIG fan of Taylor Jenkins Read, and Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is my favorite. A story that is captivating — I mean with seven husbands who wouldn’t have the tales to tell and secrets to hide. It makes you wonder what she’s really after, and this legend reveals the story of her life. A story that had been kept from the public eye for decades is entrusted with another woman who doesn’t yet know how the two lives are deeply intertwined.