Friday, July 29, 2016

Fell in Love with Woonsocket

How do you describe falling in love with a city? Do you hug the roads? Kiss the pavement? The answer is yes. This is what we do. But really we have fallen in love with the people so we share our bread and biscuits and try not to expect anything in return. That is the important thing if you are really giving you give and walk away. I learned this the hard way from parents who gave us fish hooks and then tugged when the hooks reached our stomachs.

Real giving is putting it on the 'free' table. Not giving and expecting applause or acknowledgement. Giving is not a deal or a transaction. Giving is giving.

In my family of origin my parents entertained all the time and the folks were not friends they were clients. Pretty soon we were perceived as clients not their children. Christmas was filled with clients getting a seat at the table. There was no intimacy in this family. I was starved. So I ran away and joined the circus.

One day my husband and I drove up unannounced to my parents weekend country house and it was like catching my parents back stage. We had an authentic moment of soup and bread. We knew it was fleeting and magical. We left before the stage lights came on.

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