Where's Your Favorite Place to Perch?

Let’s face it. Time is a precious commodity for most of us today. Our days and nights are crammed full of obligations, appointments, and must get completed “to do” lists. On top of those, we manage to add things that we’d like to get accomplished, things we simply want to do and places we’d like to go, and before you know it, the pressure builds leaving us (especially us women) feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, and under accomplished.

What’s a girl to do? Find a place that’s truly your own that shelters in calming repose the heart and soul of who you are…a place where you can shut the rest of the world out, even if it's only for a few minutes each day. And if you can’t find such a place, begin today to design and create one. It doesn’t have to be a large or expensive project. Use a space you already have…a spare or under used room in your home, an outside space; whatever you can find that you can design to become your own private retreat for a few minutes of your day.

I’m a porch girl. I’ve been drawn to porches for as long as I can remember. Give me a covered porch or outdoor room, where I can curl up in chair with overstuffed cushions and read or write and add a view of a lake or the ocean and I’d call that a little piece of heaven on earth. Or, let me go outside my own home to a back porch with the same over stuffed chair or sofa, surrounded by pots filled with one of my favorite fragrant flowers like gardenias and large old oak trees softly blowing in a spring or summer breeze any day or night and all is well with the world and my soul.

This weekend, my husband and I went out touring new homes; a journey for another post. Before we went, we made a list of "must haves" and "would like to have." One the things I moved from my “would like to have” to “my must have” column on the list was a covered porch off the back of the house, or at least the ability to add one. At first I felt guilty - as if that should be a luxury item, but then I thought about it. Being true to oneself is not a luxury, it’s one of the most important things we can do for ourselves and for those who love and need us.

As women, we are so good at taking care of and giving to our family and friends, so why is it so hard to give to ourselves? I’m not sure, but I have an idea. What I am sure about is that I know whenever I do get the opportunity to spend a few minutes in solitude, relaxing and rejuvenating my mind and spirit, I’m a much happier, healthy woman, wife, mother, and friend.

What’s your idea of the perfect place to perch?