I’m feeling a bit better today, but while I’ve been lying here sick, I’ve had time to daydream. One of the things I like to think about is where I would live if money and family obligations were no object. I guess the photo accompanying this post is a clue to my answer.
I’ve lived only
in a few geographical places in my life: Indiana, California, and Germany. I’ve vacationed only in: Kentucky, Wisconsin, Utah, Nevada, Texas, New York, and Jamaica. And I’ve driven across several more of the U.S. States.
I’ve never spent more than three consecutive days at the Pacific coast. I’ve never seen the Atlantic coast, except from the air. And I’ve spent four days in a beach cottage on the Caribbean Sea. So, obviously, fantasy fuels my idea of living by the sea, not experience.
Would my little, or not so little, house be on the California coast, farther north, farther south? Or would I live on the opposite side of the country? How about on the opposite side of the Atlantic … Ireland, France, Spain? Maybe in the Caribbean, Hawaii, or Down Under? While I’m dreaming, why not have houses on them all?
Whenever I’m by the ocean, I feel the allure. It just feels right. But it should feel wrong. I have no desire to be in or on the water. I can’t swim, and I can barely breath when I’m floating on water that’s over my head. I have no desire to experience hurricanes or tsunamis. And I’m convinced that at least a good portion of the western U.S. coast will sink below the surface of the Pacific ocean someday.
Then there’s my irrational fear. It’s all too easy for me to visualize some huge—HUGE—monstrosity rising out of the sea to destroy the world. That’s crazy talk; I know. Yet I think about it every single time I look out over the ocean.
So, there you go. Sensible or not, my dream house would be beachside. Is it that we always want what we don’t have? Do I have a fleeting memory of having lived by the sea in some past life? Is it some primordial urge to return to whence we came? Who knows. We dream what we dream.
Dream with me today. If wishes were homes, where would yours be?
Linda Cassidy Lewis 
First, I really admire your blog. You share some great thoughts in a good way.
Second, I share your desire to live near the coast, but not in or on it. I think it’s sublimated desire to reach out to all the unknown out there. It’s definitely that scary.
Third, I think I have my “dream house” on top of a hill with a great view, accommodating to growing family and personal needs and guests, with a lot of built in self-maintenance, the whole of which I am proud to possess, in Oregon, not far from coast, mountains, or desert.
Fourth, my other perfect house is a motorhome that lets me take all my important stuff with me to other places, at times, big enough so the bed, couch, table, and chair can all be standing at the same time.
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Thank you, Mary Jean. I’m glad you enjoy my blog.
I agree with your idea on the sublimated desire of living by the ocean.
Your dream house certainly sounds ideal. And your motor home? Perfect. It’s not the house itself I dream of, just the location, so to be able to move my “house” to different locations would be a thrill. 🙂
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🙂
Love your irrational fear of a godzilla-like sea creature. Made my Day!!!!!
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Glad to know I made your day, Taurean. 🙂 Have you ever had such a thought?
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Hi Linda, My dream home? I will know it when I find it or it finds me, like some kind of destiny. It is in my subconscious somewhere. I wonder if it is at all real. But a pleasant surprise when it one days pops up! Thanks for your post. Maria
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I hope you’ll be surprised with it soon, Maria, but all in good time.
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I’ve been to Lake Superior several times, and each time I dream of living in a small cottage right there on the lake. I’m not sure how my Texas blood would handle those winters, but in the summer, the expanse of the water (never mind the crisp colors) pull at me. It’s so beautiful, so quiet, and I imagine the perfect place for a writer.
If I could have it all, I’d at least summer there.
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Great idea, Christi. As long as we’re dreaming, let’s have it all. 🙂
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