“Sweet spot” popped up in my reading several times last week. Bothered by a feeling that the expression had become weak from overuse, I spent a few minutes pondering what “sweet spot” meant to me. Here is the result.

 

Sweet Spot

 

The place to scratch, to rub, to plunge

My mossy nest in the rain forest

A log on the trail where I sit to absorb the waterfall

The flat boulder where I gaze at Lake Superior

The place where my little one snuggles up while I read a story

The lap of my mother

The embrace of a dear friend

Anywhere the sun warms my face on a fall day

 

The first bite of cheesecake, first raspberry, first lick of an ice cream cone

The first whiff of wet dirt in the spring

The first glimpse of a rising full moon

The first kiss of tropical air upon arriving in Hawai’i

The first breath of fresh pine and cool lake approaching the North Shore

The first barefoot step onto a sandy beach

 

The moment with a friend when we burst into belly laughs

The moment in dancing or painting when time and self disappear

The moment when dinner’s in the oven and there’s nothing more I need to do

The moment when the birthday boy walks into his surprise party

The moment I see a pileated woodpecker, a fox, an owl

The moment when a dragonfly lands on my arm and stays and stays

 

The tiny mole on my dear one’s cheek, or neck

The wine stain on the carpet reminding me of an hilarious evening

The patch of black fur on my kitty’s white face

 

My favorite reading corner in the South St. Paul Library when I was a kid

The secret garden at my friend’s farm

The treehouses I dream of, the hidden gardens, the forest clearings, the rippling streams

 

The quietest, most serene place in the cemetery that also feels most alive

The place in the music when I burst into tears

The time in the play when everyone in the theater gasps

The moment when the hard task is finally done

 

 

 

March in Minnesota is not a sweet spot in the year for me, so it does seem like a good time to remember those other sweet times and places. What are your sweet spots?

 

 

 

(NOTE: Clicking on the photos will open larger, clearer images in a new window.)

 

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