My Special Place

Thought - June 28, 2014

Many of us have that “special” place we turn to when we need a time out or just a moment or two to reconnect with our emotions.  I have had many different “special” places in my lifetime so far.  When I was a young girl, I hid under my bed when I felt the need to have some personal time.  I knew that none of my siblings would even think about looking there for me.  It worked for a while too.

Then as I got older, I found solitude in playing my guitar.  Only one person could play at a time, and since it was MINE, I knew that if I wanted to be alone all I had to do was pick up my guitar and play.  Even if 100 people were in the room, only I could play.  I would sing songs that reflected how I was feeling and I was able to let my feelings go through the notes I played and sang.

Jumping ahead 40 or so years, this year, I retreat to my garden for the “special” time alone.  When I am there, I think of the wonders of seeing the seeds sprout and the vegetables appear and it just gives me reasons to meditate.  There is a kind of peace that comes over me when I am out there and it affords me quiet time to think about what I need to do and plan how I am going to do them.

Ah, like a “Calgon” bath, nothing is more relaxing…so I thought.   I have routinely been going to my garden now every day, several times a day since April 26, turning the soil, weeding, plotting my rows and then planting my seeds.  Since May 3rd, I have been basking in the joys I receive from seeing the plants appear above the soil, flower and then show signs of actual vegetables taking form. 

Like everything else in life, even the good feelings we get from the time we spend alone can be short lived.  Oh dear, what am I going to do?  My daughter has been joining me at nighttime to help me water the garden for the last three days.  I tell her I want to do it myself, but her reply was, “But, I am loving it too.”  Sigh.  I won’t shed any tears, because I know the happiness I have reaped for the last two months and I am happy that she is finding that “special” feeling that can only come when working out in the garden.  Oh, well, it was fun while it lasted.  I will just need to find another “special” place should her presence interfere with my ability to maintain a sense of peace when I am in the garden with her.

What about you?  Do you have a “special” place you go to when you need that moment or two by yourself?  Share your thoughts with us…Jeanne Claire Probst

Poem:  My Special Place

We all have those moments

Where we want to be alone,

When I do, I go to my garden

And hang there a bit with my “friends.”

To me gardening is so peaceful and stress reducing,

I could spend the day there without a doubt…it helps me relax and is soul cleansing.

Like a “Calgon” bath that takes a person away….wherever,

I could soak in the foliage of my plants and hang with them forever.

Just when you think you have found your special place,

One that no one else knows about so they can’t invade your space,

The world turns upside down in just minutes and nothing stays the same,

Like it happened for me today when my daughter came looking for me and I heard her call my name.

We talked as I watered my plants and weeded here and there,

And before I knew it, my daughter wanted to help and in my garden be near.

She took my watering hose and took over my job,

An “Oh Dear” moment…my special place has been found…of peace and quiet…I have been robbed!

Jeanne Claire Probst