sneak away. settle down.

Listening To: Stones Over Rushing Water by needtobreathe

So I told my brother that my phone was acting slow. And he suggested maybe I should delete at least 10 of the 457 pictures of my dog. Also, according to him, it helps to occasionally turn the phone off. Or close the apps down. Or, heck, update the dern thing. 

Whatever. 

While deleting and moving old pics around, I found some farm pics I never got around to posting.

This first one is very important, because it proves that hearts once hardened to various new experiences can, in fact, be changed.

This: 

... is me in a Snuggie.

Friends, in my younger, more ignorant days I made fun of Snuggies, particularly the Snuggie commercial. (My favorite part is when the family is sitting together in the stands of a local sporting event, hollering and high-fiving in matching Snuggies, like a very cheerful little unit of druids.) I thought the whole idea of a Snuggie was kinda goofy. Who needs a blanket with arms?

And yet. Have you ever actually tried a Snuggie?

They are so soft and SO cuddly. 

I'm a believer. Tease me if you must.

Of course, I realize we are no longer in Snuggie weather. These days, the swampy south is muggy and beefy-humid-gross. But back when I first snuggie'd, the weather was early Spring-cool. I was down in Georgia, on the farm. I spent the day on a back porch over looking a lake (more on that in a second) with a stack of revisions and lots of coffee and ... the Snuggie. And it bliss, I tell you. Bliss! 

That was my sister's snuggie and I couldn't figure out how to hide it in my bag and cart it off without her knowing so... . I might get one of my own this winter. Maybe. Don't judge me until you try it.

Speaking of the farm, this is my favorite new farm critter. Have I shown you a picture of my sister's dog, Lola?

She's super-mini. I always thought Biscuit was tiny, but compared to Lola ... Biscuit is huge. Lola is squirrel-sized (slight exaggeration). Biscuit is 20+ pounds. The only thing I miss when I'm on the farm is ... Biscuit. But Biscuit doesn't mesh well with other dogs, so I never take her when I go. Thankfully, Lola is always down for a sympathy cuddle.

And she always has the same expression on her face. Excited? Tired? Mad? No clue. Can't read her Poker face. I think she has Einstein-hair. Which makes her look like she's always having an epiphany:

When I'm not hanging out with the fam, or Snuggie'd down with revisions, I love to walk.

My favorite path bends through the wavy grass in the field, around the edge of the lake, and through the woods.

It's an incredible feeling - to lose yourself in the middle of nowhere. Sometimes that's the only way to find your heart again, don't you think?

Whenever I walk that path, I do lots of praying and hoping and daydreaming. And so, obviously, I also remember things I've prayed for, hoped for, and dreamed for before on that same path. That's the way of circles, yes?

And it's kind of weird, because I think that kind of circular thinking could so easily make me feel like a failure. Because sometimes I realize what I've prayed about hasn't worked out yet. Or what I've hoped for hasn't come through. Or what I daydreamed while I kicked through the high grass and red Georgia dirt is ... closer. Maybe. But still not close enough to hold against my heart.

And yet, I never feel like a loser.

It feels like a very sacred path I'm walking - a sixth circle around Jericho, another round to remind myself that every little thing is going to be all right. Sometimes I catch the echoes of prayers and hopes I've whispered through the woods. Sometimes I whisper them again, and hope shakes loose all around me. Just the same as it did the first time I dared to believe.

It's just a good place to be, is all I'm getting at. I have places like that here, too. (One of my most recent favorite sneak-away-spots is Point Park. Have you been? It is breathtaking.) But Georgia holds a very special little piece of my heart. Actually, these two hold a piece of my heart: 

A big piece. Like, the giant squiggly-puzzle piece shape in the middle. (If you're fairly new around here, those two adorables are my niece and nephew. They are way, way too much fun. And they're about to embark on an epic road trip to Wyoming with their parents which makes me so jealous. I dreamed of taking an RV vacation when I was a kid. Sigh. :) 

They're the reason I'm most smitten with Georgia. But wandering through the woods is pretty awesome, too. 

Do you have a favorite sneak-away space when you need some time alone?