“We are music makers,
and we are dreamers of dreams.”
–Roald Dahl
A few weeks
ago, with the shifting of the weather and my sights set on the faint glimmer of
summer’s arrival, I felt something stir deep in my soul. Each time I sat down
to chip away at my to-do list, my mind wandered. It started slowly at first,
but what began as a few simple daydreams soon turned into something I couldn’t
stop thinking about. My mind wandered to
warm nights on porches, fireflies over fields, and hammocks strung between trees.
It seemed like every time I allowed it to, my mind wanted to dream. So I let it.
This weekend I finally sat down & channeled the dreams into
something tangible. It came onto paper in the form of a bucket list. While I
was once worried about my first summer in Nashville, I am excited for the
prospect of a southern summer in a city I am quickly growing to love. The list
is a work in progress. There are items that are failed attempts at past bucket
lists which embody desires I’ve had for years, items that are iconic Nashville
“must-do” events, and some that are just fun lines from sentimental country
songs, that if I am completely honest, I really hope get crossed off. Here are a few highlights:
I haven’t
really mentioned it before, but on April 27th I am running the St.
Jude Music City Half Marathon. Throughout this semester, I have enjoyed
training for this race with some of my favorite friends who also happen to be
classmates. I am fascinated by the fact that I can (fairly) painlessly get my
body to run 13.1 miles. Once the race is over, I want to continue what I’ve
started, & the The East Nasty Running Club seems like the perfect way to do
this. For my Fort Collins friends, East Nashville reminds me SO much of The
Fort. Running through it is good for my heart in more than one way.
Two: Become a share holder with a local farm:
I’ve had a
long-standing vision of being a backyard chicken and vegetable farmer. Maybe
it’s been instilled in my small town, Colorado soul, but I dream about walking
into my back yard to collect eggs and fresh veggies each morning. The problem
with now is I live in an apartment,
in the city, & while I did entertain the thought of it here for a brief minute
or so, doing this myself just isn’t going to fly. The good news is, I can reap
the benefits of local farming, without doing it myself through community shared
agriculture. Think what you might about the type of person who participates in
a CSA, [& you’re probably correct] but this stuff is cool.
It’s
officially patio-sitting weather here in Nashville. This place is open 24 hours & I have
fallen in love with the people-watching, the vanilla Italian cream sodas, and
strangely enough, the frequently failing internet that forces me to stop
working for a bit to chat with my neighbors. I am excited for the conversations
to be had on this porch.
Here’s to dreaming.
-Laura
-Laura
