One of the biggest things I look forward to every year is our 10 day vacation we spend at Saint Simons Island, GA every April vacation. Before we were tied to school vacations, we would spend 2 weeks there. The year my son was in his second year of preschool, he and I spend a month there. Its my happy place. My soul and sanity crave the time we spend there. I’m sad when we leave, and almost obsessively look forward to when I can return to my happy place and push the reset button.

At this time of year its warm, almost always above 75 during the day and usually 65 at night. Warm enough to leave the windows to the beach open all night and not get cold. Its my happy place. I can hear the ocean waves from everywhere in the condo. Sunlight abounds everywhere. Everyone is relaxed, calm, and we easily fall into the slower pace of Southern living within hours of arriving. Life is simpler, the only clothing choices are what we brought with us, no make-up is needed (only sunscreen), the breezes caress your skin because you can shed the winter layers of clothes.

We rent a condo in a U shaped building, on the beach. Every condo faces the ocean. The one we rent has 15 feet of sliding glass doors that allow for more than 10 feet of screen, its almost like there’s no wall. The whole condo fills with the scent of the ocean and the flora. From the balcony you look out directly on to the ocean. I can spend hours watching the people play on the beach, the boats go by, and peer to see if the dolphins have come to visit the beach yet.

The beach walks are the best. The beach is pristine, magnitudes of shells to find, thousands of tide pools to explore, almost 8 miles of beach (4 in each direction). I tend to walk at 9am, the beach is still relatively empty. I wander in an out of the surf, poking my toes at the sand where I spot a colorful shell – looking for one that is perfect for my collection. LOOK – there’s a hermit crab scurrying away. Its my happy place.

In April, the jasmine plants are in bloom in GA. Its the most amazing scent in the world. It makes me feel like I’m 100% fully alive. When we first drive on to the island we joyfully open all the windows in the car, and breathe deeply of the amazing air of Georgia. The trees, the spanish moss, the ferns, the dirt, the marsh, the ocean, and the jasmine. The jasmine plants that grow as hedge rows all over the island. All contribute to my favorite smell in the whole world aside from my son’s head.

I’m grieving today.
We will not be going to Georgia for vacation this year.

As I sit here and write, I remember all the beautiful sights, the walks, the bike rides on flat roads on an island the size of a town, the calm that permeates all of us while we are there. And I’m sad. I’m sad we will miss jasmine season. I’m sad we will miss the sun and ocean and surf and sand.

Today – a cold, gray, rainy, dreary day – this diffuser blend was posted in one of my groups. Today, I can sit on my couch, play ocean waves on my television via my Amazon firestick, and still smell the beautiful scents of Georgia. I close my eyes and I’m *almost* there. **almost** It calms my grief just a bit.

Soon. Soon I will be back to hear the roar of the ocean, feel the sand under my feet, smell the scents of Saint Simons. Soon. Maybe this is the universe telling us we need to experience our happy place at a different season so we can fully appreciate it.

I hope that when I post one of these blends that you find one that brings you the same calm as this one brings to you.