Like typing up a story and having it all wiped out by one key stroke. Yes, this was my lot with the first draft of this story. I tried to retrieve it without any luck. At this point I figured chocolate would be the only thing to help, so I stopped and made oatmeal chocolate cookies and tried to calm down and accept that I would have to start over. This is my story of acceptance: weather, plein air sketching and chocolate.I recently took a trip with some friends down to Charleston, South Carolina for the beautiful scenery and warm weather. That was the plan, but what we got was cold, wind and rain. It was the same weekend that everyone in the mountains got the unexpected snow while the leaves still had their fall color. I was very sad to have missed that event as I love the little bit of snow that we get around Hendersonville, North Carolina and I admit I even whined a little about not being there. The pictures being posted by friends did not help matters either. Sometimes the first acceptance is the hardest pill to swallow, but I would have plenty of practice during this weekend.Friday was discovering the impossibility of parking in this quaint town. Each parking meter had different time allowances on it, from 15 minutes to an hour. Seriously, they need to color the meters so that you can spot the different times allotted easier from your car. (Breathe and accept.) I can see why there were so many bicycles chained up along the streets. The people of Charleston had accepted their (tourist crowded, no place to park) lot in life. I could do the same for one weekend, right?

Next was accepting the wind while sketching outdoors. My friend and I had set up along one of the piers at the Waterfront Park and immediately had to come up with a plan to anchor down our sketch journals and art supplies so they would not be swept into the Charleston harbor. It was interesting to deal with but at least it wasn’t raining and no art supplies were left behind floating in the water. We considered it a successful afternoon and turned our faces upward to the sun and tottered off to the Moon Pie General Store for some chocolate gooey goodness.

Saturday was rainy, cold and still windy. We thought we could sketch from inside the car and parked along the street in front of the Big Red Barn in the heart of Charleston. The poor horses and their carriage attendants were all lined up, bundled up as much as they could be against the harsh weather. They were waiting for any tourist brave enough to face the elements for their one hour tour. We soon discovered that it was simply raining too hard to even see out of the window with the rain bombarding the windshields. We accepted the situation and took a few snapshots to draw from and returned to the warmth of the hotel room with chocolate pralines….yes, chocolate does help.

Sunday was the only day with decent weather and we ventured out to the Magnolia Plantation and Gardens where Miriam and I quickly found a sun lit bench to sit on and sketch the house. While still chilly, it was not raining and the wind had calmed down at least to the point that only a few things had to be retrieved from the playful breeze rolling my pens around.

Although this weekend was not all that I had hoped it would be, it was spent in the company of good friends, plenty of laughter and lots of chocolate. It’s easier to accept the bad things when you have a nice balance of good things too. I admit that my drawing is not one created from while I was down there but it came from my frame of mind once I returned home and reflected on the word acceptance.

I’d like to think of myself as an accepting Charlestonian, riding my bicycle around town feeling the warmth of the sun on my face and greeting all the tourists and life with a smile on my face. And somewhere in my basket tucked midst the wine and dog, there surely has to be some chocolate too.

Sandee Setliff is a contemporary mixed media artist and art journalist, enjoying her journey into writing. Her art work can be viewed year round at the Art Mob Studio and she teaches Art Journaling classes at the Henderson County Parks and Recreation Athletics and Activity Center in Hendersonville.