I Was Once Asked

I was once asked by a coworker if I was a beach person or a mountain person. Honestly, I had never really thought about it. After all, I just love being in nature. 

Once upon a time, I would have blurted out, “I’m a beach person!” I love the rhythmic rush of the waves, warm sand between my toes, the heat of sun on my body, and the wind in my hair. I particularly love the sunsets as the sea sparkles and shadowy boats sail far out along the horizon. I am entranced by the mystery of the sea and all the secrets they hold. I respect the people of long ago who struggled through stormy waters to reach unknown lands.

I love the fury of Great Lakes, the rocky Maine coastline lined with lobster boats, and the beauty of Florida beaches along the Gulf. Yes, I do quite love the beach. The beach and the sea will always be treasured places in my heart.

But I think the more accurate question my coworker should have asked me was whether I was a beach or forest person. 

The last time I climbed a mountain was in October of 2019 in Maine. I climbed a couple of mountains with my sweet friends, Karen and Greg. It was a wonderful trip. October in Maine is breathtakingly gorgeous.

Karen and I climbed Sargent Mountain. It was a gorgeous climb up through the beautiful autumn woods until you reached a very windy and cold, rocky top.

I think as I’ve gotten older, my choice between the beach or a forest would have to be a quiet pathway in a woods. Surrounded by trees and ferns, I am captivated by the musty smell of the forest floor and trees filled with bird songs and the chatter of squirrels. This is where my heart sings and I find peace. I fell in love with forests when we lived on 26 acres of woods in Reelsville many years ago.

Regardless of where a forest is, on a Maine mountain or in my home state of Indiana, I find beauty in them all.

My last wooded walk was with Charlie. We walked at the nature park near me. It was springtime and pinkish lavender flowers were in their glory. The woods smelled fresh and of new life. A section of the pathway wound alongside the creek which was swollen from spring rains. It was such a lovely walk even though I fell.

I tried to convince Charlie, while lying on my back on the pathway, that I tripped on a tree root, and I laughed uncontrollably as I begged her to pull my ankle because it was jammed. She laughed at me as she recorded it all.

After I was able to stand, she showed me that it was a walnut right in the center of the pathway that had caused my fall. I laughed in disbelief and joked that, no…it was definitely a tree root and that no one was to know otherwise.

I will always love the beach and all it offers, but I find my place, my perfect fit, is in the solitude of a forest. 

By the way, my coworker said if I had chosen the beach we could not have been friends. Ha! 

♥️

Andi