JULY CAN BE COZY TOO

 

From bellaGrace, 2020

No thesaurus defines cozy as secure, but that's how I think of it. Because then it can be an all-year feeling.  Then cozy can be a childhood memory, a slow dance in the kitchen, or a space filled with pillows, photos and plants.  It  can be a booth in a place where you're a regular, or even your car tooling along a familiar road to a familiar place.  Security, comfort and contentment are not bound by the seasons; they are feelings we seek and create year-round.  

I began blogging in 2017 when we lived for a semester in an old 3-story brick building in Princeton, NJ.  It was winter and our apartment was on the ground-floor right on the sidewalk.  My husband could walk across the street to teach his classes. Mostly we were snowed-in.  Three small rooms and raging central heat.  Definitely cozy.  It was an un-busy, un-hectic time; no wanting more or feeling dissatisfied.  A perfect time to realize what I wanted to share. 

We can settle into the things we enjoy any time.  Now, in July, it's cool sheets, denim shorts and breezy tops, sometimes a sweatshirt or cotton sweater. Where we live the vines and bushes have exploded and are growing so close to the house that they almost press against the windows, like being snowed-in but by green tendrils.  If you're OK with wading through North Carolina lushness, it's cozy indeed.  

I read something by Teagan Olivia Sturmer, a writer who says, "I find myself drawn to the cozy and simple when things go bad.  And sometimes things can go very bad." (bellagracemagazine.com, 2020) I can identify with that.  Why else would hot tea be my go-to drink?  She also writes that choosing to feel hope is not always easy, but it is always brave.  I can identify with that too.  Giving up is easy; hoping is not. When I've had the choice to bail or do something brave, the bravery has sprung from hope.  

So where are you finding coziness this summer month? Where's your security, comfort and contentment? Is there a place or activity where time stops and you enjoy the ritual of just being you?  Do you paint, write, knit, daydream, run?  Blog?  Is there a time where you can be your own best friend and breathe?  When you are warmed through with contentment? (Can I confess that a nap is cozy?)  How do you capture cozy?               Nina Naomi

  Starra Neely Blade, b. 2003, BellaGrace, 2020