Knitting + Tea + Macaron =

 

My idea of a heavenly bi-weekly ritual.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog it’s probably pretty obvious by now that I’m a huge homebody.  Aside from hitting the hiking trails or shopping for hobby supplies I can usually be found puttering around in my house, sewing, cooking, reading or blogging.  I am a retired stay-at-home mom (thank you to my friend Betsy for coining that phrase), and it seems that after the years of running around according to everyone else’s schedule the last thing I want or crave is another schedule.  After nearly three years in Tucson I’m only just starting to think about venturing out to find some social activities.

So I didn’t actively create this away-from-home ritual;  it was born out of necessity.  Every other Wednesday morning we have our house cleaned.  I intentionally hired a cleaning “crew” so that they could blitz the place in two hours or less and be on their way.  On these mornings I usually feel anxious, not only because I have to tidy up before the crew gets here (we all know that one) but because I have to be out of the house while they are doing the blitzing. Two hours to wander around town.  And since the crew gets here early, the mall and library (my favorite places for intentional time wasting) aren’t open yet.

One week I grabbed whatever project I was working on at the time and decided to find a place to just hang out and knit.  I went over to Whole Foods where they have a large open area with high and low wooden tables.  It was quiet in there with only a smattering of people working on computers or quietly chatting.  It was so inviting.  I ordered a cup of tea and eyed the large display of macarons.  The last macaron I had was several years ago in Paris when I was visiting Anne.  I couldn’t resist and picked out a salted caramel one.  So decadent at nine in the morning.  I settled down with my bag of knitting, my (overly) sweet macaron and my tea.  I watched people come and go and enjoyed the wonderful energy in the room.  I exchanged smiles with people I didn’t know and that was fine.   I hung out there until it was time to gather up some groceries and head for home.  I felt relaxed and in a small way more connected with my community.

So now this is where I go on these Wednesday mornings.  And rather than feel anxious, I anticipate the time, tea and macaron with pleasure.  I’m not sure that going forward my yarn, tea and macaron will always be so color-coordinated  ( I clearly have a need for more red in my life) but I will take this as a sign that the greater world is calling and it may be time to step on out.