It’s snowing here in Colorado. Everyone is excited.
Snow means skiing in the nearby mountains. Snow means it’s really the holiday season. A rainbow palate of lights dangle from town square evergreens and hang from the eaves and rooftops of neighborhood homes that are frosted just so. A glittering snowscape comes to life after dark, bursting with red and green and blue and purple and even pink–village scenes that flicker and twinkle as if on cue.
It’s snowing here in Colorado. I am cold as hell.
My D.C. blood has grown thin in Florida. My frame shivers and huddles under my handful of lightweight sweaters and one pair of hideous brown Ugg clogs, because what person living in South Florida would actually purchase the boot version of Uggs? I wish I had. I also wish I hadn’t gotten rid of all of my warm coats and down vests. But now I only visit winter a few times a year, and thus I can make do with never feeling quite warm enough for a few days.
It’s cloudy and rainy and misty in South Florida. So I hear.
“You aren’t missing anything,” says the boy over the phone, the boy who came to my apartment an hour before my taxi came to whisk me away to a plane that would take me away from South Florida silliness and into the arms of my family. He is trying to make it right again, calling and texting every day that I am here. I am happy and hopeful about his trying to make it right, but I try not to be too happy or hopeful, because what if….
“The weather sucks here today,” he tells me. I glance outside the window of RG Daughter’s house and watch the tiny flakes sprinkle to the ground. It’s cold and snowy here, I tell him. And kind of beautiful, I think to myself.
It’s time for me to go back to real work. I will work on the book as I can.
Since I catapulted myself into the South Florida hustle almost 18 months ago, I have wanted to find my way to the Keys and work in a tiny eatery on the water that serves up eggs all day and lunch when guests want it. I want to wear jeans and an apron and wipe down tables, handing out plastic menus as I ask a group of sunburned tourists from Montreal, “Coffee this morning?”
My former GM thought I was joking when I mentioned this more than once when I worked for him. I wasn’t. My South Florida friends will surely think I have gone insane if I share my lowly so-called dream with them. After all, I have worked as an event planner for one of the busiest and best-known restaurants in D.C. and one of the best fine dining rooms in my current realm. What would possess me to want to serve eggs over easy with a side of toast?
Money, according to my very cool friend who wants to hire me to work with her. Fun, maybe, according to me, and the prospect of wandering quietly away from an urban South Florida social scene that I miss less and less each time I leave it, and in which I continue to immerse myself each time I return. A little bit of peace would be nice, too.
It’s snowing in Colorado. My South Florida friends beg me to take a picture of it, but I am too cold to do so.
“Are you ever coming back?” texts my guy friend who has kept me afloat through so much bewilderment by providing me with so much laughter. I assure him I am, tomorrow. He offers to pick me up from the airport. Real friends pick up other real friends at the airport. This real friend might also understand my Keys dream, because he gets me so well. I wish I could tell him, but I can’t tell him, that the boy is trying to make it right again. For the time being, I am keeping that all to myself.
Cold, cold snow. Tropical drizzle. Just wait a minute, so the weather folks say. It’s bound to change.
Comments
10 responses to “Snow, Snow, Snow!”
“coffee this morning?” – I can totally relate to that kinda dream- and, what’s more- I can easily picture you there.
You wanted to go to South Florida rather than stay in DC. That was a huge step to make – far bigger than moving from a Fancy Restaurant to a waterside cafe.
Restaurant Gal follows her dreams – that’s what makes her Restaurant Gal rather than Stuck-At-Home Gal.
I look forward to tales about the difference between customers who want eggs over easy and those who demand sunny side up 🙂
i didnt know you were living in colorado…i live in colorado too! and you’re right…its freezing. the city i live in got dumped on…we had more than 15 inches sitting in my driveway…ick. the snow is pretty to look at, but i hate being out in it and driving in it is dangerous. blah. i used to live in both texas and arizona…oh how i miss it sometimes :p
oops. i misread that…you’re just visiting…ah well. lucky you 😉
[…] Vote Snow, Snow, Snow! […]
Wait a minute – the Keys, Colorado – where next to run away to?
Jenni–Isn’t it a fun dream? Not sure I can live it just yet, but it is very tempting.
Kim–You always get it. Thank you.
Britt–I love Colorado and someday I may live there. But I have to admit, three days of snow and I was longing for my sun and sand.
JoeinVegas–If a girl can’t wonder where next might be just right, then a girl can’t dream. Since I was a little girl, I have always wondered, what’s next. When I finally got the courage to leave DC and start anew, I vowed I would never feel stuck or mired in unhappiness again. If and when I move next–to Colorado, the Keys, or wherever–I won’t be running away; I’ll be running to my next adventure, complete with happiness, sadness, and all the rest in between.
Definitely coffee and I’ll take my eggs over medium with a side of toast… Mmm… wheat today.
I had a favorite diner in NY that was just a few blocks from our apartment. Sometimes we’d wander in at 2:00 for breakfast… and all the servers knew us… it was a slice of heaven.
I would love to have you work at our new favorite place. We usually swing in at least once over the weekend, and it would be wonderful to have someone who really loved working there to fill our coffee cups.
I tell ya, RG– dream the dreams that make ya happy– and when it feels right- make those dreams reality! I’ve always admired your strength and determination- and your unwillingness to settle- that is one reason that- regardless of time or distance between us- I will always proudly call you my friend. If ever I can help- be it an ear to listen or a place to crash- you can always find me! (currently living on anxalpaca farm- isn’t life grand!).
Oh, I love Colorado.