Sunday I had plans. I was going to take a few hours and go to a local coffee shop to finish a knitting order. My bag was packed with all the things I needed: yarn, pattern, camera, and needles (or so I thought). Kind of hard to knit without the needles. They were still on the sofa when I returned home.
It was fine though. My hands need breaks here and there. I am constantly knitting or crafting and some times it is nice to have a few minutes to let my brain and hands stop.
Sitting in my local bookstore coffee house, I take in the scenery. Many ages of people out on a Sunday morning. It seems that most people are locals since the Shakespeare plays have just started to resume. The man behind the counter makes conversation with the locals that seem to have been frequenting this location for years. The rain is pouring outside, spring is on it's way, but not before the skies drench us with wet days. The song playing in the background is Bill Wither's original rendition of "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone." The setting is idealistic. The coffeehouse feels a little damp in that cold wet Spring day feel. A fresh cut vase of lovely cherry blossom's on the counter from the local flower shop. I am feeling like a tourist of my own town.
I order a lovely mocha and grab a National Geographic. Can it be that I am finding time to read? A rare occurrence in my life of two kids. An article about Normandy grabs my attention. I read it, I imagine how life would be living in Europe. I long for hot days and dinners outside. I start thinking of how I still need to find my outdoor European style table, it makes me want to have a big family surrounded by good food, local wines, and beautiful sunsets. In this idealistic world I am envisioning the kids running around in seersucker pants and white crisp shirts.. never interrupting the adults in their indulgent food and wine consumption.. only to stop us on occasion to let us know they are ok and to get the occasional hug and kiss. The adults are sitting around telling stories of their lives, crying with laughter, and our European music playing in the background. Then I realize, a girl can dream, right?
I decide to take my camera and "visit" my town. To see it transforming from winter to Spring. This was, in fact, the first day of Spring. Let's see the changes happening. The first thing I did notice was the massive amount of people surrounding the Shakespeare theaters. The "season" (as the locals call it) has started.. the tourists are slowly but surely crowding the streets of our tiny little town. To be honest, I like it. It gives the town a sense of rebirth. Of ever changing ebb and flow of people, but the locals remain. We are now in that category. We are local. We can complain about the traffic, the lack of parking, the amount of people... but if you look at their faces. They are happy people. They are on vacation, and they have chosen our tiny little town to vacation in.
The walk showed many signs of the season changing.. it was a vast contrast of winter and spring.
Do you like to become a tourist of your own town? It's quite refreshing.
