My Sanctuary

The Daily Post is asking: If you could split your time evenly between two places, and two places only, which would these be?

I haven’t traveled enough to have a second favorite location that I’d love spending half of my time exploring.  I wish I could answer with Florence, Santorini or even the Big Easy; dining alfresco on a balcony of the Royal Cafe, soaking up endless jazz and the unhurried flow of the deep south, the complementary mesh of Creole and Cajun, the energy of the tourists.  I just, sadly, don’t have those experiences to know for certain.

What I do know, is that if I could get away with splitting my time in two different places without my entire world unraveling, one place would have to be here, at home with my kids, being a mom, a daughter, a friend and constantly juggling all of the things that life throws my way.  The other place would be a sanctuary of silence and solitude.  No phones, no televisions, no responsibilities except for the laptop in front of me with the handful of novels still waiting to be written.

I don’t need a cabin in the woods or house by the lake.  Those could be distractions.  I might spend more time outdoors exploring, than inside writing.  I wouldn’t shrug these options off, though, because as we all know, scenery can be quite inspirational for creative writing.  I think a quiet place surrounded by a garden would be sufficient.  There’s a lot to be said about vast gardens, the bright sunny places, as well as the deep pockets of shade where any number of stories hide, just waiting for the right author to pluck them out, examine them and give them voice.

As long as I had my MP3 player, plenty of coffee and something to write with, I would be in the next best place on Earth other than home.  🙂