The stillness in the air is only affected by the soft snow falling between the tall trees and past the window.  Animals, deer, a squirrel, a rabbit or just a mouse is out there finding food under the piling snow.   A sense of peace and calm fills the air as I rock back and forth, slowly, with intent, in my chair.  I lift a cup of hot coffee to my lips and pause from writing this blog to watch the wood in the fireplace crack and shift, shedding more heat into the room.

The over-heated coffee burns my lip and my daydream ends… to see the concrete parking lot out my window.  An ambulance with sirens alarming flies by, the screeching of car breaks fills the air, animals scurry to hiding places and the silence is all gone.  The reality sinks in that I am not sitting in the cabin in the woods but stuck in suburbia.

For more than two decades, I’ve had the same daydream of the snow falling in my cabin in the woods.  Well, it is sometimes substituted by the daydream of dancing with my kids in the wild flowers or making sailboats with my girlfriend to send down the creek. Don’t get me wrong, suburbia offers all the amenities of restaurants, gas, groceries and entertainment. It just falls short on the peace and quiet factor.

It’s hard to decide exactly where to have a cabin though.  Will a single destination be good enough, long enough or would it be better to keep camping to allow for infinite possibilities?  Maybe by a camper or a trailer.  A bed and warmth on a cold fall night would be a luxury I’d like to have.   Or what about a tiny house on wheels?   We watch the show on TV all the time.  Maybe we can be on there next (except I will not say, “This space is so small!”  Um, duh!)  Wherever we go, it will have to have stuff to do; but nature-based stuff, not shopping.  I’d like to be able to walk out the door and go fishing, hiking, hunting, bird watching.  This is not just for me, but for my whole family.  I just couldn’t imagine living in a cabin by yourself for very long… well, I’d think your mind would really wander and likely to a dark side.

I’ve taken friends with me to look at land on which I’d like to build a cabin.  I have even contacted a Realtor to help me find the perfect property.  I’ve talked to just about everyone I know about such a cabin.  I’ve considered going in on a cabin and some land with a buddy of mine.  And then we talked about buying a condo at a ski area which would be kind of like living in the mountains but still have the amenities close by. And you could have renters.  I just don’t remember renters or skiers or bars or streetlights being in my dream. Of course my buddy didn’t wander or wonder for long; he just moved to the mountains for good.  He did select more of a cabin than a condo though.

No matter where the mind wanders, I believe it to be important that you know your dreams and to not lose sight of them.  This dream of mine could take a long time to get but one day, I’ll make it the priority and get it.  I wonder where my mind will wander next?  And when in that cabin, will I see the sun rise over the horizon or it set…