Welcome to My Sweet Pond! This is the view from my office window, and it makes me happy. How can you gaze upon such a sight and not be? It calms my soul.
Of course, there is a real world that happens all around my sweet pond, but of all the spots at my home, this is the one that calls to me, whether I'm indoors or out. If I could, I think I'd spend my entire day just watching. Maybe I'll see birds at the feeder or lively fish splashing at the shore. I might even see a goose or two enjoying a morning swim, or a Kingfisher perched on a wire looking for lunch. And then there are the occasional turtles who poke their little heads up here and there, as if they're playing "Marco Polo".
I treasure this place and the quietness it has. You see, I didn't always live in a place like this. For the first sixteen years of my life I live in suburban Southern California, and I loved it. Our town was nestled between the sparkling Pacific and the gentle, rolling hills. But the homes were very close together, and to see something like my sweet pond, I would have to make a trip and go somewhere on purpose. Surely not anything I'd see in my daily life. Certainly not something that was my own special, quiet place.
So here I am, now having lived more than half of my life in rural Alabama with this beautiful view from my front window. I couldn't love it any more that I do right now. I love living in Alabama, but more than that, I love the way of life here. Slow, and only as hurried as you want it to be.
My husband and I have raised three grown children here. They've had the freedom to park a four-wheeler right outside, next to the house and be able to go for a ride whenever they wanted. Or park a backhoe in the front yard overnight if needed. Or take a walk into the woods behind our house, even getting lost a time or two, but always, eventually finding their way back home.
I'll soon be a Grandma for the first time, later this year, and that sweet little bundle of joy just can't get here fast enough! It may be a while before we can play outside and feed the fish, but it will come soon enough. In the meantime I'll be here, at home, enjoying all the loveliness that surrounds me, including my family, my pets and my sweet pond.
