M and I were in our local pharmacy earlier this week picking up cream for his leg. The pharmacist completed the transaction and handed me two packages of gummy bears for S and B, who were in school at the time. I hadn't mentioned them at all, but she just recognized me-- I turned to M and smiled triumphantly and he just started laughing.
I love the sense of community here-- the cafe-owner's son delivers our newspapers; I buy eggs from a woman I know through the kindergarten. When I walk past the local hair salon I always get a wave, and this morning when I got to the dentist's office for a checkup I was greeted with a hearty: "Hello Ms. V! They're all ready for you in room 1!"
All morning long I've had that old Sesame Street song "Who are the people in your neighborhood" stuck in my head. But back in the days when this song (with all its variations) was hip I was an inhabitant of anonymous suburban sprawl. The only person I really remember knowing was our 7 year old neighbor with whom I used to giggle at the sight of my dad's underwear drying on the clothesline.
Now that I am older and actually live in a small town I really appreciate the interconnectedness that is such a part of life here. We have met so many people through school and sports and just life in general-- that interconnectedness fascinates me!
Somehow I can't picture Bob McGrath singing in German about die Menschen in unserer Nachbarschaft, but I think it's only now that I can finally really identify with this song!
No comments:
Post a Comment