I was having a crummy day, freaked out about lots of things that need solutions and money I don’t have. So I decided to go to the park. There is a woman there, 94, who is there everyday. We hang out a couple times a week. We are friends now.
On the way there I ran into a woman who was selecting sticks from the piles of sticks on the University lawn (my residency is right nextdoor), so I said, “aren’t these sticks amazing?” We discussed all the many uses and expressed regret that they will just be hauled away.
She was collecting some for her 95 year old friend who is an artist at the residency. I said, “oh, I just met her son.”
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I have been collecting ribbons while in Sweden because they are beautiful and inexpensive, and I feel like a Victorian girl with 10 cents who finds joy in something simple and beautiful. I wanted to show my friend the ribbons because what is more fun than show and tell?
Today she was with a guy about my age, then her friend joined us. We had fika. Coffee, tea, and treats. It was a lovely day. The guy had lived in the US, and when he said he’d attended Rutgers, I said, “I had a lover who attended Rutgers.” True, but also it just tumbled out of me, like it has been waiting 20 years for the right moment. Cinematic. We all laughed.
***
So, this is it for me. I have found my community. I have park friends. I meet strangers who see value in discarded sticks that could be art or baskets or a bonfire or a fort……
Learning that when poopiness clouds my brain I must go for a walk.
Also, a pig.
Spring is here, and I’m hoping no more snow. It could happen. I visited the pools yesterday, and the water is 2C. I hope to get back in when it’s around 4-6C.
My health has been crappy for a few months, but I don’t see how getting in the water would make it worse. So, I’m gonna do it if I can figure out how to get there on the tram cause I do not have the energy to ride the bike and swim.
Also, geese here are sort of a**holes, too. They think they own the park.
