Mockingbird Hill Cottage

It started snowing in the afternoon here in Hartford and by the time I left rehearsal at 6:00, there were several inches on the ground. It was a bit windy and the falling snow was flying everywhere.

To me, it was magical.

It reminded me of my years living in Philadelphia and Boston – cities where one can get around by walking or by mass transit. I didn’t have or need a car in those days. So when a big snow storm came, I just slogged my way down the street on foot. I didn’t have to worry about driving in it. Life didn’t come to a standstill, it went on.

As I walked through the heavily falling snow, I saw it gleam and twinkle in the streetlights. This time, the snow was the beautiful light and fluffy version and I really loved it.

The entrance to Bushnell Park with the trees wrapped in beautiful Christmas lights – so pretty. The falling snow in a city brought back memories of several of my grad school classmates and me walking through a blizzard trying to make our way to the subway in order to get to a rehearsal. We had to grab onto light poles because it was so windy and we laughed ourselves silly. Or leaving the building I worked in at Boston University in the evening, getting on the T, eventually alighting in Harvard Square where I continued my journey on foot for several blocks until I reached my warm and dry apartment. Snow is beautiful when it swirls and glimmers in the evening lights of a city.

There was a freedom that came with living in a city when winter weather hit. Stores stayed open. Daily life continued. And even though I might have been pelted with flying snow as I made my way around the city, the point is I could do it. Now that I live in the country and have to drive everywhere I am much more hesitant about driving in snow. I no longer have the seeming fearlessness that I had as a young adult, when I thought nothing of driving across the state in a blizzard to attend a friend’s wedding. What was I thinking?

This morning it is very windy and the streets have been cleared. Don asked my neighbor to please clear a bit of our driveway so that I can drive up it – at least a part of it – and park the car when I get home tonight. More shoveling tomorrow. Oh, that’s right – when I lived in an apartment I didn’t have to shovel snow!

Sometimes I miss living in the city. This is one of them. I think I will always have that push-pull feeling. Drawn to the country vs. drawn to the city. I lived in both and each of them has a piece of my heart.

It’s been wonderful being in a rehearsal studio again. I love my work. I feel so at home in rehearsal spaces and theaters – I’m sure if I tallied up the amount of hours I have spent there, the result would be shocking. I know what I’m doing in those spaces. I know how to work there. I know who I am. I’ve been there as an actress and as a coach and teacher. The actors in this show are very talented and very nice. I’ll be back in a little over a week to spend a few more days as they work onstage in front of an audience.

Poor Scout. Boarding again.

And for a little comic relief, I saw this on my walk to rehearsal yesterday:

A pigeon eating take out.

And why not?

Happy Sunday.