In a few hours, will be off to a weekend workshop at Omega. John will be covering for me with grannie clients, something he enjoys. One of the special things we both bring to this occupation of mine is a loving, friendly relationship with our mothers. My hubster ENJOYS being with my clients because they put him in mind of Mom Murphy. Lucky me, to have such wonderful support. And lucky grannies & gramps, to have such a fun person as my guy with whom to chum around!
My cell phone will be left in the car. Not even showing new friends photos of back home. Leaving it all back here.
But "back home" will be very much in my heart all weekend. Especially friends & dear acquaintances at our cozy senior residence in the heart of my little hometown. Them, and my dreams for where they live.
From May through the middle of October, I am the Cupcake Lady at the local farm market, sheltered under the oak grove. To my left is the ice rink, blocking the view of the senior residence, several hundred feet away. To my right,is the local college. Both are at the center of my dreams for the coming years.
Over the past two years, I've developed closer personal ties with both places. The folks at our senior residence know they can count on me to put on splendiferous teas before holidays. The Monday before Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, even Christmas? I know where I'll be! And every Monday morning during the school year, you'll find me in the Bryn Athyn College alumni office, with plates of goodies left throughout the Brickman Center & Pendleton Hall. What will be especially in my heart this weekend are my ever-present dreams of bringing these two beloved places & uses more closely together.
In my heart of hearts, I see both developing into hubs of our community. We have a long history of connection, a tradition that has frayed over the past decades, as it has in so many places. I believe that there are wonderful solutions to the gnawing lack left in its place & I believe that the college - and our older friends & family just down the road - hold the key to restoring a renewed sense of cohesion.
Bryn Athyn Bounty, the local farm market where I decorate cupcakes with delighted children, is a fund raiser for the college & a spirit raiser for the whole community. I believe there is more, much more, that the college can - and wants - to do to create a new sense of connection, reknitting the currently frayed ends of what was into a whole new fabric that celebrates what is.
The original plan was for the cozy senior residence in the heart of my little hometown to act as a hub of our community. Somewhere along the way, that vision seemed to get lost. While there are things I daydream about, ideas for what might be that keep me wide awake in the wee small hours of the morning, there are ways I can give support to my older friends right now. Coordinating rides for people who live throughout our town who'd love to go to the Tuesday & Thursday suppers, but have no wheels. I'd love to see the weekly Friday night movie opened up to the whole community, then coordinate rides to & from that, too. I'd like to...
No time to write more! Am off to Omega in less than three hours, off to a workshop that will help me bring all of my dreams out of my heart & into reality. Will be leaving my cell phone at home, taking dreams of my future in my heart.
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