Do You Have A Happy Place???

Do you have a special place that you go and when you are there you feel so safe, comfortable, loved, welcome, and somewhat sheltered from reality???

I have a place like that. It is so very strange but I love being in Jamey's grandmother's house. I think I have mentioned his grandmother in passed blog entries. Her name is Ann...Nannie Annie to my kids and I adore her. She is 75 years old and she is probably one of my best friends...I am an old soul you know. From the very first time I visited when Jamey and I were dating I was instantly made to feel right at home, loved and welcome and have loved visiting ever since then.

I do love visiting her house....I only get to visit a couple of times each year because she lives on the Georgia coast....way down there...about 6 hours from here.

Her little neighborhood is nestled on a quiet street just about a minute from historic downtown St. Mary's. Her little house is so quaint and so welcoming from the outside but once you walk through the back door......ahhhhh....you are home!!!! (Her philosophy is that back door guests are best.) I love everything about being there! I love her little kitchen and how everyone gathers in there despite the fact that it is tiny and you have to step over people and take turns eating at the table and bar. I love her dated but oh so comfy furniture...her couches beg to be napped on. Her guest room and bed are simply wonderful....When Jamey and I first got married and would go down to visit and would almost always drive at night and would get there around midnight or so. She would always leave the back door unlocked, have the bed turned down and have a night shirt waiting on me so that we wouldn't have to unpack our luggage until the next morning. She would always be in the bed when we got there but could never resist getting up to give us a hug and a kiss before we collapsed into that wonderful bed. I even love the smell of her house...clean and crisp...uniquely her house. The fragrance sticks to clothes that she brings me (she is a confessed shopaholic...but never pays full price) and when I smell that particular smell I long to be there...it must be my happy place.

Now that we have kids her house is way to tiny for us to stay with her so we stay with Jamey's aunt Lisa and her husband. Even though we sleep at Lisa's house we spend as much time at Ann's house during the day, which is just one street over, as we can. Her house is like a magnet to us while we are there.

I think the thing I love the most about the house is that it contains so much history. That house is where Ann and her late husband Herb raised their three children. They bought the house well over 50 years ago when Jamey's mom was just a baby and the house itself is very much a part of the family. I just feel so good when I am there with her. I think everyone does...she is the best!!!!