Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Knitted Branches Of A Community

My birthday was on Monday, and I was pretty slow to rise after festivities the night before (THANK YOU, all my friends at Hatchet Hall!). My head hurt, thanks to very generous friends plying me with very generous drinks (with flowers in them!). When you feel like that, it starts you thinking too, not always in the most positive light. It was not the way I'd pictured my day going, but it was my birthday, so I had to rally.

Each year on my birthday, I have to - have to - immerse myself in a natural body of water for a little dose of rebirth. It can be a lake, river, swimming hole, or the sea, but it just has to be. With that in mind, and knowing that a dip in the ocean always helps with these kinds of mornings, I set off for Playa De Los Amigos, on a perfect blue sky afternoon. Ok, late afternoon.

Several things aligned. My friends at the French Market knew it was my birthday, and hooked me up with the perfect mocha to get my head straight. My friend, Lacey, was also up for a dip, and in fact offered to pick me up so I didn't even have to drag myself there under my own power. Then, if you can imagine, we found a perfect parking spot right on Pacific, right near our spot. Butterflies flitted around us like it was an old Disney movie, perfectly charming.



Then, we crossed (Ok, jay walked) the street to find THIS oasis of pure fun and happiness ... an entire yard with its tree branches dressed up in colorful knitted outfits! We'd already been saying it was a magical day, and then just total icing on my birthday cake of a day.

Some cool people on 24th Avenue get HIGH praise for this colorful creation, that for me, instantly became a metaphor about community. About Venice. About how we're all knitted into this place together. About keeping things fun, interesting, unique, and yes, magical.



A post up the street got in on the action too, and by now, my spirits were so lifted that the dash into the ocean was immediate, and also an absolutely instant reward and remedy. We all know that saltwater is the cure for everything (sweat, tears, and the sea - Emerson), and on this day, nothing was more true. I was BACK! It was perfectly awesome.



As I floated on my back in the warm water, I let the sun warm my body and my friends and town and knitted yarn trees warm my heart. I reflected on the past year's joys and aches and looked forward to my new year's opportunities to knock and examine the ideas I have up my sleeves ... and knew that I'm definitely on the right path ... one with beautiful, fanciful trees!


*And Happy Venice Birthday today to Jenny Everhart!


No comments:

Post a Comment