Looking Back

It’s that time of year again. If you read my last post, you know where I’m at; bobbing up and down in the tide of melancholy. It doesn’t take much these days to get me teary. Even a simple request to reminisce on family time at the sea shore got my sentimental wheels turning. When I noticed that the prompt was inspired by diapers, the motivation began to dwindle because my kids are out of the diaper phase. Uh oh. Here comes the rush swelling emotions. My children are long out of diapers. Dang it! Here I go again. My babies are growing up. I’m telling you, I’m hopeless.

When it comes to looking back on my life, the beach is the consistent strand that connects all the things I want to remember; family, fun, laughter, relaxation, nature, simplicity, peace, perspective, clarity. Our days (and evenings) spent at the beach are some of my fondest memories. I guess it would make sense logistically speaking as we live only a mile or two from the So Cal coast but even still, we are die hard beach people. Summer, winter, vacations, you name it, we head to the ocean—to dig in the sand, splash in the sea, snack on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, walk on the beach, discover treasures, and rediscover each other. And I always bring the camera.

What about you? Where are your most sacred memories found? Is there a place you visit and revisit where you find your soul at its most content? Is it a multitude of memories that make it special or one single instance when it was as if the planets aligned just for you? Where ever or whatever it may be, I’ll bet there’s a photo that helps encapsulate it, isn’t there?

Comments

[melody]

Dang it woman! I'm all emotional as it is with hormones and no boy under the age of ten. :) We LOVE the beach. But our fondest memories are from our mountain creek. Oh how we miss her...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/melsphotophun/1478374378/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melsphotophun/1399540963/

I love your sentimental posts, really.

[deezee]

stunning photo...

[laura]

I often think about taking a trip somewhere, even within our beautiful city as there are beaches and mountains within minutes. But as strange as it may sound, we have no getaway favourite. For us, home is where the heart is. We're most relaxed and happy when we're home. We love to cuddle with our baby girl and just lay in bed all day. Those are my happiest times. So, for us, we love home.

Last night I ran out into the middle of our street to take a shot of this gift from the heavens:
http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/fiery-sunset/

[Marcie]

It's the quiet of the early mornings at the lake's edge that most reminds me of long summer days with my babies:

http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php

[Shelli]

Funny - I have an imagined place in my head that I think upon when I want to sooth my soul, so I have no photos of it. Yet I also love my home. That's a beautiful photo you posted.

I also wanted to tell you that I finally listened to your interview on that podcast, and I enjoyed it very much! I had to mention it on my blog as well!

[renee]

Without a doubt the mountains and woods of Maine, where we live. Each weekend we pack our backpacks and a lunch and head for the mountains.

The pics in this post don't "encapsulate" all I experience in the mountains. Still trying to get a dappled sun-light through the trees shot : ) But they share a bit of the beauty and solace I experience each week with my family.

http://fimby.tougas.net/Speckled_Mountain

[Lawyer Mama]

Stunning photo!

We are beach people too. Beach season has just started here and I can't wait for the long weekend! But even though we love to be at the beach, I think we're making most of our memories in our own backyard. It's a magical place, with a tree house, long expanses of grass for running, bushes to explore, and woods of mystery.

Half of my photostream was shot in my backyard.

http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2414263532/in/set-72157603638375698/
http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2421870935/in/set-72157603643073069/
http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2470873786/in/set-72157603638375698/
http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2424769092/in/set-72157603643073069/
http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2457716161/in/set-72157603643073069/

[Rachel Parton]

My heart is most content when I'm back home at my family's farm...

http://www.excelsiorfarms.com/images/farmbig.jpg

[Naomi]

There's a place I always find myself revisiting (of the geographical kind). My immediate family have a link here, and so do my ancestors. Every time I visit, it's like a homecoming.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2482799494/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2482815942/

Then there's my parents' place. Here's where I spent some of my youth:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2481959485/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2481959481/

[julie]

You know, the place I visit and revisit and long for is Heaven. Days like today I want to be in no other place.
julie

[kristin]

i too feel calm at the sea. i love the smells of summer: the lotion the salty air, the sea spray. but it is not home. i have lived far from home many times now. and always when i travel back there is a knowing, a peace. i drive one part and the rolling hills appear before me, the farmlands, so rare these days elsewhere, still alive there. the clickety clack of horse hooves from the Amish horse and buggies. PA~ home.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/2457678226/in/set-72157604611137280/

[camerashymomma]

aiy, it's the beach for me as well. (i just wrote about this on my blog yesterday too!) i fear that i will never be happy until i find myself living there for good. i was born in san diego and raised on various east coast beaches, so it's saltwater in my veins for sure. i've felt landlocked for nearly a decade and it brings on the melancholy like nothing else. it's something my husband simply doesn't understand, "why are you never happy?!"

galveston is a different sort of beach, ya know cause it's the gulf. but i find myself there in the waves, i have to , it's all i've got. so any picture from this set is where i find my peace.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/sets/72157603892099208/

[Mrs. Eaves]

I grew up near beaches, so they have special significance to me...but I've been a landlubber for a while now, and have learned to appreciate the different world that East Tennessee has to offer.

The University of Tennessee Arboretum is one of my favorite places. It's where I go to let my thoughts be calm.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrs-eaves/sets/72157605212798387/
http://camerashy.cemestos.com/tree-a/

[Kate Baumert]

This is how I life to spend my spare time. With special people:

http://happyinthehamptons.blogspot.com/2008/05/i-came-home-smelling-of-chocolate.html

[Ashley]

summer sunsets on the beach....this is my happy place.

http://thelightersidephotos.my-expressions.com/archives/10888_1332777616/293852

happy friday!

[Elaine]

Yes, I'll be the third to say stunning photo. Your images aren't the only thing to evoke strong emotions and vivid thoughts in me -- your words do this, too. Thank you.

And yes, this is a Shutter Sisters' prompt I can easily respond to. Last Sunday morning, I rediscovered this place of rest and remembrance for my Mom and me:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92348589@N00/2505596157/

Here on that morning, I felt my soul. In one moment peaceful, in another sad, in another grateful. But one constant, overriding emotion: love.

[Michelle]

Beautiful photo - I love that, the one last look back.

My special place - the creek.

http://www.askewtoyou.blogspot.com

[Trude]

Wow I love that photo! Just gorgeous, the contrast between forward and back. It speaks volumes.

My parents patio is a place where I have many many fond memories. Being a SoCal girl too, we've done many a summer (and non-summer!) dinner out there. Too many photos in my Flickr to share just one...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trudem/

[Alice C]

Oh! Curses! I have exactly that photograph - and I was saving it for a post just like this!

[Kathleen]

I live about 4 miles from a beautiful beach...can't wait for summer (though I visit throughout the year)! I feel like I breathe a bit more deeply at ocean's edge, and feel a calmness there that I can't get anywhere else. This is the view away from the water...just as beautiful, I think.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23630286@N05/2303929753/in/set-72157605113895625/

[Alice C]

My daughter and I spend a lot of time driving together. Although the road is not beautiful I value that time - we chat and laugh and listen to music. Yesterday, before I read this post, I asked her to take photographs as we were driving home. My post captures some of that happy time that we share.

http://magpiefiles.blogspot.com/2008/05/road-home.html

[melanie]

I assuredly find most of my really special moments near water..be it a lake, the ocean, a river. However, the ocean is that special place for me where I connect to an energy bigger than myself. I get a sense of awe at just how amazing this world we live in is. It brings me calmness and serenity. I remember bbqs, and sitting around a fire listening to a friend play guitar, one of my first dates took me to the beach. Lots of very amazing memories.

Now that I currently live in NM, I am beginning to appreciate what the mountains bring. A different kind of beauty. Strong and majestic. Fierce and unchanging. Lovely.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23637958@N06/2477112537/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23637958@N06/2477112135/