I step out onto the porch of a cabin surrounded by mountains, tucked away in the woods.
It's early morning; dawn. The sun is just waking up to touch the world, shining dim light through the trees and the fog. It's autumn. The air is crisp, the colors are majestic: lush green and purple set ablaze with orange and red.
I can see my breath float into the sky. I'm wrapped in a soft old quilt, my hands kept warm by a mug of hot coffee. I breathe in the rich aroma of roasted beans, of pine needles and bark still wet from rain. My ears are filled with a symphony of wind whispering through dry leaves and birds whistling to one another.
Underneath my quilt, silk pajamas hug my skin, curves released from the imprisonment of Victoria’s Secret. Toes are cozy in fur-lined slippers, hair curly and wild, fresh face clean of paint. Nothing pinched in, nothing pushed up, nothing pinned down.
Free to be exactly who I am, where I am, as I am.
Wholly imperfect.
Out here, it’s just me, the land, and God. And depending on my mood, perhaps a hunky lumberjack snoring inside; his dog patiently laying at his feet.
I sip my coffee in silence and absorb the serenity. The weight of the world dissolves. Today’s only plan is to get lost on a winding trail, or in the yellow pages of a book. Not even my most unrelenting troubles can find me out here.
In this moment, time is still. My heart is full. My mind is at rest. As I reach the bottom of the mug, I take a deep breath of cool air, and exhale. I’m grateful to be alive.
I go back inside to make the lumberjack and me a stack of chocolate chip pancakes.
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This is a place I created in my imagination to go when I get stressed out. You're welcome to use it, I just ask that you put everything back where you found it. And don't touch the lumberjack. He's not even actually mine, it's a weird part of the contract with the cabin rental company. He just occasionally comes with the cabin depending on his availability with work and if you're willing to pay extra. I think technically he belongs to Dolly Parton.
