Why "Lost in the Lowcountry"..

Most southerners feel a strong attachment to the land & its surroundings, & I’m no different. To be honest, I can’t claim the southerner title, a fact I reluctantly admit to you, because I’m strongly convinced I have a true southern heart & soul (although I can’t get on board with okra or boiled peanuts. I mean really people, warm, mushy, nuts, I’ll stop there). People always say they bleed the color of their home team, well my birth certificate may say the North, but I bleed sweet tea & pluff mud so you can’t really call me a yankee. Entertaining is in my genetic makeup, a trait no doubt given to me by my grandmother. I love how here in the South people greet one another on the street, & welcome them into their homes for a quiet meal with a “come get you some, suga.” There’s no shortage of that southern hospitality you hear so much about. Life moves a little slower here, you can always count on a Saturday boat invite & expect to see at least one dolled up, elderly southern belle stoping to strike up conversation with a stranger as she makes her way to Sunday church, no doubt a southern gentleman patiently waiting nearby for her to get a move on. 

Having been born in Massachusetts & raised on the gulf coast of Florida, I’m a lowcountry transplant, but nowhere has felt as much like home as it did when my husband & I packed up our lab, Koda, 8 years ago to follow his Coast Guard career here, & it still does today. Being a high school social studies teacher, I was quick to be enamured with a coastline as rich in history as southern hospitality, & Matt was even quicker to purchase his 1st crab trap the moment the firm ground give way to that slippery marsh. I can’t help but smile in amusement at the sight of him wading off into the tall reeded marsh behind our first apartment like a kid in a candy store. Fast forward a few years, he finished his tour but we had already planted roots as deep as the oaks here in lowcountry, so Matt jumped in to a new career with a custom home builder & I found my niche in alternative school working with young adults struggling to find their way.

A few grey hairs & fine lines later, I took a hiatus from teaching to focus on my own little tribe which has grown by one remarkable little girl & a sweet & gentle little boy that have completely hijacked my heart. Now you’ll catch me on the sidelines of the soccer field, attending baby yoga, scrolling Pinterest in search of parenting tips, & dabbling in other outlets during these baby making days of mine. We do a lot of traveling as a family, but there is nowhere I would rather raise my sweet babes than right here. The low country really is as charming as it looks in all those southern living magazines. Saturated with grand porches & welcoming rocking chairs, ice cold glasses of sweet tea, & those picturesque sunsets slipping behind salty marshes bursting with wildlife.  Yup, life in the deep South is as calm as it gets, the Spanish moss drapes over century old oaks as if it where strung by the hand of a designer, & almost everyone knows everyone by name. You can always count on the sounds of croaking frogs, clanking church bells & of course some old man complaining that he wishes the mosquitoes would stop biting & the fish would start. It’s one of the most relaxing places on the planet, so I know if I had to live anywhere else I would just be a crazed ball of stress. Jobs, kids, budgets, etc…life can bring on some serious pressure, but living here makes it a little easier. 

Now that’s not to say I have it together or that I don’t breakdown every now & then. The truth is, life is chaotic & mine is no exception. Some days I totally kill it. I get up early & take the time to get ready, walk the dog, come up with a baller sensory activity, handle every issue at work with finesse, crush some yoga, set an incredible homemade dinner on the table, & get the kids in bed by 8 so Matt & I can read a book together or discuss our day & future plans. Then there are a lot more days I sleep through the alarm, only realize I forgot to feed the dog when he jumps up on the counter to steal the babies food, let my kids watch too much tv, have a boarder line nervous breakdown trying to put a work fire out, serve something out of a brown paper bag for dinner, put the kids to bed way late without a bath, & skip a date with my yoga mat to binge watch peaky blinders with cheesecake & wine. Some days I know exactly what I’m doing & where I want us to be in five years, then other days I screw something up so bad, fall flat on my face or start seeing a different idea for our future. So ya, I’m a little lost on a daily basis trying to figure it all out, but I think being lost can be a beautiful thing too.

The great thing about being a little lost is it makes you more aware of surroundings. This was revealed to me not too long ago when my husband & I were searching for a tiny beach in Puerto Rico. When planning our trip, I had seen a picture of this breathtaking cliff just wide enough to walk out over a secluded little beach. We were able to locate the name of a popular beach for locals that was supposedly near the spot. Problem was it was a pretty huge area & there were little directions on how to get there from the beach. But we rented a Jeep anyway, & set out on a 2.5 hour drive to other side of the island in hopes of finding it. Truthfully the sights & people we met on the drive alone would have been worth the trip, but we still followed through on the search. We wondered around for well over an hour looking for a couple clues that were listed online about rock shapes & trees, & we were blown away with how beautiful the land was. If we had known exactly where to go and how long it would take, we would have just followed the quickest path, probably talked or let our minds wonder to other important things, & would have totally missed the beauty all along the way. The peace tree, as I affectionately named it, the bright green baby birds sitting in a nest tucked in the corner of a rock, & so much more could have been missed if we had been on a mission to get where we knew to go. I’m so appreciative for the being lost, searching out, & taking in that made arriving at the peaceful place all the more rewarding. We came so close to giving up a couple times, just being happy to appreciate the beauty on our little adventure & heading back to the beach, or convincing oursleves the blogger was wack & it wasn’t in the area. But the thought of arriving kept us going through the heat & fear of not finding our way back. It’s been several years, but I still vividly remember walking up on it with tremendous joy & shouting to Matt “I told you”, because at that point he was convinced it wasn’t there & wasn’t too thrilled I wasn’t giving up. The point is, feeling a little lost on the journey makes arriving at the destination sweeter, & even more importantly, helps you analyze your surrounding taking in the beauty on the way. 

I don’t always know what the best parenting approach is, I’m not exactly sure when or how we want to grow our family, I don’t know what elementary school I want to send my kids to or what I see myself doing for the rest of my life, but I am sure of the important things. I think it’s ok to feel a little lost or not know what you’re doing as long as you do know your values, morals, & what matters most in your life. The rest will just fall into place exactly as it should, even if it takes some growing pains to get there.

I took my journey to the web, because there is no shortage of bad news on it, & I felt like it could use a little more happy. I want this little blog to bring you a sense of peace, happiness, hope, & inspiration. I want it to be more than just clothes & design. Although I love those things, I want to show you all the wonderful people on this planet & remind you that despite all the bad you see, there is still so much goodness in this world. Families fostering, women supporting one another, companies loving their employees like family, people volunteering & so much more. Everyday I turn off the news feeling yucky & I have to really fight to remind myself that not only is God still on the throne, but there are so many beautiful people right here in the lowcountry that get up everyday doing good works. I’ve heard people refer to their blog as their little corner of the web, I prefer to call mine a sandbar of the web. A tiny sliver to pull your boat up to & hop off to relax & restore your mind. There’s no place more calming than a lowcountry sandbar where you can feel your toes in the gritty sand as you take in the beauty. I want this blog to be that for you. A place that brings a smile to your face, peace to your mind, & restores your faith in humanity when the world seems dark. I know I need a pick me up in my life some days, & since it’s not always practical to drive out to the marsh, I flip on a terribly cheesy hallmark movie ( preferably a Christmas one). Yes, the movies are bad, but there’s nothing depressing about them & it’s ok if my kids are in the room. It’s just a happy little space, so I want my blog to be your hallmark channel, (hopefully with less cliché writing)😆, but a place that brings you peace nonetheless. A place that reminds you how grand the world we live in is, & that you have an amazing purpose for being in it. So come get lost with me out here in the lowcountry & maybe we’ll find some wonders of life.