Escape

Have you ever longed for a momentary escape? A way to ease the troubles of today? Perhaps it is a cup of coffee. Perhaps it is a sport. Perhaps it is a phone call to a mentor. Perhaps it is as simple as a hug from a friend. We each reach for an outlet when the stressors of our life have overloaded our capacity to deal.

Few things make me happier than blankets, hugs, candles, scarves and books. Separately or collectively,it is a recipe for safety and contentment. As a child, I would read for hours upon hours, devouring every book I could get my hands on. I could wholly lose myself in the story, and, often, I would wish myself to different times and places for I was convinced that I was not born in the right era. In fact, to some degree, I still think that might true.

My favorite story, although not a chapter book, was, "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." I checked that book out of the Canal Fulton Library so many times they should have let me keep it. I never tired of reading about the journey the beautiful Princesses took by boat and land through forests of gold and silver to dance all night in a palace across the way. I wasn't allowed to dance, and it sounded so magical and lovely and beautiful. A forest of gold and people twirling and laughing. All these years later, I can close my eyes and still see those illustrations, and it takes me right back to the feeling of magic. I'm not too old to want to twirl and laugh in a forest of gold. Quite unfortunately, I still do not know the first thing about dancing, but if I found that book at the local library, in no time I could be a dancing princess.

I will forever be devoted to words. To the power of writing. To the wonders of reading. It has been a lifelong solace. Can I encourage you to find life in paper and bindings and ink? To hear the heart of another? To imagine a different place? To dream?

It really is a momentary escape. A relief of the stressors that threaten to waylay our souls. Perhaps try it with a cup of coffee alongside a mentor who plays sports.