Today’s post was inspired by a friend who mentioned liking the foggy weather we’ve been experiencing here on St. Simons for the past few days. Although we are a bit light deprived I am using this weather as a sort of “blanket” to snuggle down into and write. It serves me well.
I began to visualize a move back to the South almost twenty years ago. I grew up on the Gulf Coast of Texas in the Houston area. Large oak trees draped with Spanish moss were a part of my childhood that I fondly remembered. We lived near the water and experienced long periods of foggy, damp days during the winter months.
My first step in making the move was to subscribe to “Southern Living” magazine. Actually, my aunt Ruth began the process for me by handing me a stack of old issues when I visited her in Austin, Texas shortly before her death. She was always one of my favorite aunts. A Betty Crocker test kitchen cook, back in the day, Ruth forged a path for me that sparked an interest in all things culinary. So it seems fitting, looking back, that she would ignite my desire to move back to more familiar surroundings.
So I began to turn the pages of “Southern Living” and dream of moving to whatever part of the South that might call my name. First stop turned out to be in Florida where I spent ten years and then I discovered Coastal Georgia. The ages old oak trees that line the streets, forming a graceful canopy always enchant me. Their history and grandeur speak of a time when Plantations dotted the islands and life was more simple.
When it is foggy, like it has been for almost a week now, there is a slightly haunted feeling that comes over me when I watch the moss as it sways gently in the breeze. All of this natural beauty is an inspiration for me to dream, to write and to embrace life in the Southern way.
Embrace the NOW, whatever the weather may be and see where it takes you!
