When I was growing up, I often searched out places  to hide out and read, draw, or ponder. In a family of extroverts, I was an oddity, or so I felt. My brothers told me no one knew that they had a sister, but that was ok with me! I just wanted to be alone, it may not have seemed healthy , but to me it was a time for me to recharge, renew and be creative.

These days, I don’t hide out in my room, I do have a studio to play in and paint and read all day some days. I do have my places I like to travel to that invigorate me. Since I live so close to the coast, small villages call to me, like Apalachicola, St. George, and Mexico Beach. There is just something about the coast that calls me, fresh air, small town friendliness ,  and the townspeople are characters right out of books!  I will rent a small sea captain’s cottage in Apalach when I need to recharge and hide out from the world. It is magical to me, we all need that in our lives. A place to go.

So the next time you feel like you are coming out of your skin, or need that alone time, time to just be you, carve out a space somewhere. Refresh your self with a book, a long nap, a travel brochure, a sketchbook and pencils, a pot of hot tea…. whatever gives you that peaceful, hopeful, glad to be alive moment and enjoy. I call it Bliss.

Yours truly, Suzanne