Nature, The Great Escape

Anytime there was too much chaos or noise in the home, you could find me sitting on the step of the front porch or on the patio in the backyard. I never thought of myself as an outdoors person or nature type. Until I realized you don’t have to be a person who loves camping in the woods or hiking a trail to enjoy nature. This is what I thought it meant to be an outdoors, nature loving person. You do not have to like everything about outdoors. I told a friend I don’t like bugs. He said, “Well, you don’t like outside.” I replied, “Then how is it I sit outside on my porch for hours or tend to my flower bed, or totally can spend half a day on the beach? I can throw a blanket on the lawn or bring my lawn chair to a outdoor concert and I am in heaven.” He replied, “Oh.”

I enjoy my mornings or evenings outside. I enjoy the park. When I want to run away, I want to run to nature. I want to sit and listen or sleep. I want to write or color. I want to walk and explore or listen to music. I want to have a conversation with another peaceful, light hearted soul. I want to just be there sipping my water, wine, tea, or coffee. Oh, yeah and snacking lol. Nature has always been my escape. A walk to the library when I was child felt like I was getting away. The blessing of the library literally being in my backyard is something I always cherished. It, too, was an escape. I have my favorite seasons and I have learned to accept the offerings of summer and winter. I like the nature of it but I am not a heat or cold kind of girl. I actually, dare I say, can deal with the cold better but I would not want to stay in that climate or some place where snow reaches by knees or eyeballs every winter. No ma’am, no sir, no way!

~Nikki