Me Places

I have always had me places. Places to go to shut out the universe and think. Places to calm down when I’m frustrated or angry. Places that I can be alone even when they are crowded. As a child I had closets, backyards, and playhouses. In college there were parts of the library, parks, and quiet corners around town. At camp there were always little spots tucked away in the woods. Once I had a car the woods and forest were almost always where I went, until I moved several hours from them. I have spent 3 years looking for places. There have been makeshift, almost, sort-of, but not quite right places here, there, and everywhere, but there have not been any me places and I have waited eternally long periods of time to go back to the me places of my past.

Yesterday I had some plans that fell through and not for the best reasons. Let’s just say I have been needing a me place for weeks and have had no where to go. Well all of that bottled up frustration is far less noticeable to me than it once was. I guess I am getting used to waiting. Anyways, I woke up earlier than planned and thought that getting breakfast from my favorite restaurant would be a good way to get started. I dawdled for a while, but eventually left my house. I got all of the way to the end of my street before I got a strong prompting that I needed to go somewhere else. The location was clear and so without thinking, I went.



As I got closer to the place that I had been sent to additional directions were also clear. I continued on. I passed a cute little place that I had not noticed before and thought I will stop there on the way back. Just after passing it I knew that this was actually my final destination. I turned around and went to see what on Earth I had been sent here for. And just a few steps from my car I knew that this was a me place. This fabulous spot less than an hour from my home was a place where I could think, a place where I could calm down, a place where I could pray, and a place where other people wouldn’t bother me. There is a path under pine trees, which I love. There is a hidden waterfall that I was excited to spot. There is peace and calm and I love it!



I love that my Heavenly Father knows me better than I know myself and that on a day when I am expecting the world to explode and be filled with frustration and annoyance He can send me to find peace. I love that in a place where I never would have expected a me place, in a county where I had given up on one existing, Heavenly Father guided one of His daughters to a place that He knew would meet her needs.

I am really grateful to have parents that taught me to listen. They taught me the value of the Holy Ghost and taught me to recognize His promptings. All of these years later, thanks to them, I knew to listen and found exactly what I needed.

The Duckies

I often eat lunch parked by the lake at a local park. It's a lot of fun these days as there are baby ducks learning to swim. There is one part of the lake edge that is 6 - 8 inches above the water. One day I got to watch their mama teach them to get out of the water there. It was pretty funny as they swam full speed ahead jumped either too soon or not high enough and plopped back into the water. I didn't realize that I had my camera until it was a little too late, but they are cute in this anyways.