I believe that most everyone has a special spot that they like to visit. This may be a house or a place in nature or even a particular city. Whatever the place, these areas evoke memories for us because of the time spent there. We cherish this time and yearn to return and to share the place with those we love.
I refer to such areas as poignant places. They become poignant because of experiences that happened there or the people that we were able to be with there or how we felt when we were there. It’s especially wonderful when time can almost stand still in these places and we can feel transported back in time whenever we return.
One of my most special poignant places is a cabin that my mother’s family built when she was in high school. It is located in a remote mountain area of Utah called Christmas Meadows. Her father had a dream to have a place to take his family to be able to get away and be in nature and spend time with each other. He found a lot near a river that he could build a cabin and they set about spending several summers working on this as a family.
They wanted to build a cabin that would bring the family and future descendants together through play and work, so not only was a large swing and a horseshoe pit built, but they opted for a coal stove for the way to cook all the meals instead of an electric stove. The water heater was also attached to this, so the only way to have hot water at the cabin was to get a good fire going in the stove.
I have been going to this cabin at Christmas Meadows since I was a toddler. When I was a very little girl, my trips there were all about playing with my siblings and cousins, going down to the river to canoe or fish, and taking walks in the woods. There was always an abundance of wildflowers to admire and an array of rocks to study and collect. It always felt like a magical time for me to leave the city behind and spend a few days in the woods.
As I grew older, I treasured my visits there because it was such a respite from the stress I felt as a teenager and I appreciated even more the beauty all around me when I was there. I would go for long walks or curl up with a book by the fire and just savor the peace of being in this place that always seemed to stay the same, even though my life was starting to change a great deal.
When we had our daughters, it was an incredible experience to take them to this cabin and see them experience it for the first time. They were surprised at first not to find a television or computer there, but then realized how fun it was to explore the woods and to build things with the rocks and sticks outside. Occasionally we would even spot a moose on our walks.
I was able to visit Christmas Meadows just a few months ago. I hadn’t been there for three years, yet when I walked in, everything was the same and I truly felt at home in this beautiful haven that I have been visiting for over 50 years. The turmoil of the pandemic and other stresses in my life were put at ease by being in a place that has held so many memories for me. And being away from the internet for that time, while cooking food over a fire, just helped me to focus on what was really important and to be at peace.
I know that I have been very lucky to have Christmas Meadows, even though it’s difficult to visit it now. Four generations of the Patterson family have now been able to visit there and feel the reprieve it offers from the world. On one wall of the cabin hangs a picture of my grandparents, reminding us all of this legacy of love they built us to have a refuge from the world.
We live in an ever-changing world. It’s exciting to see new discoveries, technologies, and inventions, but we need to have a way to center ourselves and find a way to be at peace, especially when things feel so chaotic. Having a poignant place to go to, where we can feel like the world and other troubles will just pause for a while; will help us through these times. And not only that, we will return to our regular lives feeling rejuvenated and ready to face the pressures before us.