There

In every place I've lived, I've had a "spot." The one where I always go to relax, the one that helps ease my nerves. Often my bedroom (particularly when I was sharing a house with five other women), sometimes a lesser-traveled living room or something similar.

For the last fifteen years, there's been one room at Storm that has been "that spot" for me. It's the room people forget about -- on the bottom floor of the main lodge, tucked back from the game room, and rather inexplicably referred to as the fireplace room. (There's a fireplace in almost every meeting room in this camp. I have no idea why this one gets a special designation but it's been that way through at least three directors.) The furniture doesn't match, the TV is old and enormous, it's smelled the same way for basically ever, and it is easily the most comfortable spot in this building.

I have a crazy history with this room -- the first time I went to camp, we slept here on the last night because, well, there was no room at the inn. A couple years later, I had my first kiss here. (Awkward, considering the blinds have only been up for the last few years.) When I went to Mines, I'd drive out to Storm to escape and almost inevitably find myself in here to study, drink some cocoa, and light a fire in the fireplace.

Now that it has new carpet (the old stuff had been here at least as long as I've known of the room's existence) and the room's been put back together, I'm finding myself in here once again. In a couple of days there will be a group using it for meeting space, but for now ... it's all mine.

Life is good.