Exposition Part 2 (setting)

To describe growing up in the lowcountry of South Carolina, I would have to take you to the marsh on a spring day, flush the great blue heron from its silent occupation, scatter marsh hens as we sink to our knees in mud, open you an oyster with a pocketknife and feed it to you from the shell and say 'breath deeply' and you would breathe and remember that smell for the rest of your life  

~ Pat Conroy, The Prince of Tides 

There are many words to describe the setting in which I grew up but if I had to choose just one word, it would be...idyllic. 
Mr. Webster defines idyllic as such:

• serenely beautiful, untroubled and happy 
• having a simple, unspoiled and especially rural charm 
• an experience or period of serene and carefree happiness, usually in beautiful surroundings and often idealized
• a scene or event characterized by tranquility, simple beauty and innocent charm

I grew up with a deep appreciation for the ocean and the surrounding rivers that flowed into her. As a very young girl, I was taught to always respect the tides and to understand that I was powerless against them...no matter how hard you try, the tide will take you where it wants to take you. Never venture out to a moving body of water without knowing the direction in which it is flowing. 

I have spent the better half of my life in one of two places:

 on the beach at Sullivan's Island 

or in the creek at Rockville

My dad used to (and still does) say 'you kids just don't understand how good you've got it.' He was right. It wasn't necessarily that we didn't appreciate it or took it for granted...I just think we never knew it wasn't normal. We were unique kids in an extraordinarily unique environment. 

All that which makes up what we so lovingly call the Lowcountry is what shaped me into the person I am today. People have been asking, 'so how is life in Jacksonville?' 'when are we going to hear what your new life is like?' and that is coming...but I didn't think that was possible until I properly gave credit to the people and the places that stir up a love in my heart that words cannot contain. There's so much to say about where I come from and who has influenced my journey thus far. 

'oh my sweet Carolina, 

what compels me to go? 

Oh my sweet disposition, 

may you one day carry me home' 

~ Ryan Adams

 I feel like this must sound crazy to some. Many of you know exactly what I'm saying. But I feel that I am so deeply rooted in a place that has very rich soil ...so naturally, part of me is trying to reject the new place in which my roots are being planted. But it takes time and effort - and much tending. I believe that I have been placed in good soil and I am trusting that the Gardener is doing what He promised He would do.