Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Southern Ol' Allure

I went on a walk late this afternoon. The air is moist yet warm, the birds are chirping, and the mist wafts over me...a familiar haunting in my heart. But it's not connected to this place (in fact the weather is rather strange for here) I'm taken back...to where...

Ahhhh, the South.

I've spent some significant time there for a summer and various vacations. And there is something totally unique about the allure of the South.

Perhaps because I'm a California Girl through and through (ok a little Brit) but my first time in the south took me off guard. I was surprised how different it was but how much I longed to cozy up in it and stay for a while.

Was it the history and charm I felt as I walked the streets of Charleston? The fresh wood deck that I lounged on in Hickory? Sweet tea over a long, lingering home cooked meal of buttered greens, herb roasted chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy? Fishing off the deck at Lake Norman? Dancing the night away in Nashville?

Something beautiful lingers in my heart in these spaces. Haunted by the permission the remembrance of the place somehow gives me to slow down, live simply (yet elegantly), enjoy the hot sunny days that give way to cumulonimbus nights, hovering at the skyline.

It's allure quiets me. Stills the clamor within. Reminding me to grab a glass, pour some tea, and rock for a while, taking it all in. (ok now I feel like I am in a Nicholas Sparks book).

The south has been a place of romance, adventure, reunited friendships, simplicity and beauty.

And today, here in San Luis Obispo, CA, my heart went back there, she allured me back.

Thank you, Sweet South.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You're a romantic, here, afar, or wherever the wind may take you.

Anonymous said...

You're a romantic, here, afar, or wherever the wind may take you.

Katy said...

Love it Suz. Where is the pic from, and how long since you've been there?

Susie (Shaw) Fitler said...

This pick was actually on stock exchange website. but it captures that balmy air, low lit nooks, and vegetation. i haven't been back for two year, when i was visiting Kathy at Lake Norman.