My Happy Place

This is a different post for me. One that is not blatantly therapeutic, but if you stick around to the end, you'll see my point.

Life has felt pretty difficult lately. Dark moments. Anxious ones. Moments where I wonder what the hell I’m doing with my life. This trip couldn’t come at a better time. I need some detachment AND a change of scenery.

This will be my seventh trip to Aruba. I had to count and re-count this week because I had lost track. The pandemic created a blur in my life timeline. 7 time! I am exceedingly grateful!

Aruba is my happy place. Well, one of them. I have a couple others (Paris, the trail by my home, a local restaurant in town where everyone knows my name). In the weeks leading up, as the anticipation builds and the countdown commences, my husband and I sing the Beach Boys “Kokomo” song. “Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya…” It’s our anthem leading up to every single trip. You’d think that it would get old after time, but it never does.

My first trip was for my fortieth birthday. We wanted to celebrate the milestone and so we picked a destination by looking at a Southwest Airlines route map. I didn’t yet know that Aruba would hold this sweetness for me. It accidentally became my happy place. The place where I feel good all over. The place where every cell of my body relaxes.

I love returning there, not because of all the things to do on the island. Not for the fancy itinerary. No, it is the rhythm, the predictable routine that fills my cup. It’s the familiarity that’s comforting. I love exploring new places but I also love the ease of returning to old favorites. Familiar stomping grounds. It’s like visiting an old friend, Aruba and me.

I joked this week that I have my “old lady routine” in Aruba. Really, it’s my introvert routine if I’m being honest. I start the day with a sunrise walk along the beach. The stillness of the ocean before the world wakes up is like a gentle embrace. I breathe deep the salty air. I thank the wind for running across my face (even though my hair gets frizzy). I savor the taste of the fresh fruit at breakfast and the delicious fish at lunch. I feel the sun as it kisses my skin. I float in the crystal clear waters, my spirit buoyed with play. I lose myself in beach reads and psychological thrillers. I snorkel and shriek with delight at the colorful fish, ones I swear I’ve never seen before.

I let all the sights of Aruba take me to a place unlike any other. A profound place of relaxation. I sleep better than anywhere I’ve been. My nervous system releases a deep exhale. My worries fade away.

I don’t take these trips for granted. Instead I savor every moment. It’s a luxury to be there. I am grateful each time I return to the island.

Do you have a place, dear reader, where you feel less hindered and more yourself? Do you have a “happy place?” A place where peace and beauty relaxes your nervous system? I hope you have more than one.

Rest assured that next week, I’ll be back to my “serious” essays, debunking modern myths and telling the truth of my story. But for this week, may the ease of vacation and happy places wash over us.

Maybe one day I’ll see you there in Aruba. For now, may we allow rest and play, ease and lightness.

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