January 2024 – Places of Our Lives
I’m writing in my study, one of my favorite places. Within its silver sage walls, I’m surrounded by photographs of my children and grandchildren and artwork of places I’ve traveled; one, a farm scene, reminds me of my roots. It’s cozy here, even though the room is open to the rest of the house, lending a spaciousness, not only to the room but also to the flow and connection of ideas. Behind me, windows open to the woods, where birds twitter and flit through the trees and squirrels chatter as they go about their endless games of “acorn management.” The hum of distant traffic reminds me there’s a world out there. A stunning paperweight and a funky yellow vase are mementos of my mother, who was creative and loved beauty. The yellow vase once housed her pins and needles; now it holds my paperclips. On my left is a pile of files containing aspects of my life; on my right is a copy of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style, silently chiding me to “edit useless words.” Snack, my Welshie, lays at my feet. The room (and house beyond), provides a delightful, constantly stimulating backdrop against which my life and ideas unfold, as if it’s conversing with me. This place inspires me.
What is your favorite place? A place where you feel connected, rooted, peaceful, “at home.”
Place or setting in a story sets the mood, influences the way characters behave, affects the dialogue, foreshadows events, and invokes emotional responses.
For example, the Cheshire Cat, announces, in a concise description of the strange world Alice has discovered down the rabbit hole: “We’re all mad here!” She (and Carroll) made up the word, “curiouser,” just to describe her journey through this weird, confusing, yet oddly refreshing place. What would Alice in Wonderland be without the “wonder”land?
Just as the characters in the stories we read are affected by their surroundings, so we too, are consciously or subconsciously influenced by place.
In this series, I invite you to explore with me places that affect and shape our lives:
Outdoor places – perhaps a garden, where “we are closer to the heart of God than anywhere else on earth.” (Anon)
Homes – places that express who we are, not just shelters and places to store our stuff. Sarah Saranka notes, “The more a house expresses your passions, the more you’ll feel “at home” there. (The Not So Big Life) One of my parents’ favorite places was a porch where they could commune with nature and find respite from their chores.
Vacation spots – I’m hiking with my daughter in Acadia National Park. We stop on a summit, where I watch in horror as she heads out to a rock ledge for lunch. With trepidation I join her. Suspended in space, she is exuberant; I, an acrophobiac, am paralyzed with fear. One mismove…Then a surreal sense of calm comes over me, making this one of the most memorable moments of our trip.
Third places – places between home (our first place), and work/school/retirement (our second place), where we choose to spend our time. One of my favorite “Third” places is the pickleball court, where I invariably meet new people or am reacquainted with people from the past, am accepted no matter my skill level, and where I celebrate fun, life, and good sportsmanship. Access my article on “The Disappearance of Bowling Leagues and the New ‘Third’ Place, in the July/August issue of SP at https://seniorresourceswmi.org/senior-perspectives-newspaper/ or https://janethasselbring.wordpress.com/blog
Inner lives – the stories we tell day by day, moment by moment through the thoughts we harbor, the beliefs we accept, the scenes and events we rehearse in the hidden studio of our minds.
If you’d like to share a description of your favorite place, send to janethasselbring23@gmail.com. Please indicate whether I could use your description in a future article in this series.
Janet Hasselbring
janet hasselbring 