To market, to market!

Earlier this week, I was blessed to get to hang out with a friend of mine, whom I've known since my oldest son was just a little guy. She's got several years more clean time than I, and she is a wonderful woman. Been there for me through thick and thin. AM is only about 8" shorter than I am, and has determined that I am "deformed", b/c of this. lol She claims that people of her (slight) stature are actually the height that God intended, and she actually pities me and mine for being so...well.. WRONG. ;o)
Only a really close girlfriend, eh?
Anyway, I went over to her house to help her with some things that needed to be hung and/or otherwise affixed to the wall. She admits that it IS convenient to have such a freakishly tall friend in these situations. (See, I'm ONLY 5'9"!!) But, first, we went to an NA meeting in town. It was a great one, with a lot of folks there, and everyone was friendly as ever. It wasn't even uncomfortable, really, being the only 2 white girls there. (Except for one woman who came in with a gentleman who was celebrating a "birthday") I liked it immensely, and hope to be able to work it out to go there again, and the bonus is hanging out with AM. I have so much respect for her; she's a veteran from Saudi, and has been clean without a relapse since she was 19 years old And those are only the reasons that I will share with YOU ;o). Seems awfully young, but when I heard just a bit of the experiences that led up to her coming into recovery, there was no doubt that she'd earned her seat.
Anyway, after the meeting, we went downtown to the City Market for lunch. It was GREAT! The last time I'd been there, a few years ago, I guess it was closed for upgrades, or rehab, or something. I remember being really bummed out that there was NOTHING going on. So, this day, when we walked inside, it was full of hustle and bustle--which is of course how you can tell a REAL City Market from a wanna-be; and the smells and sights were almost more than my heart could stand.
For some reason, whenever I'm downtown, it takes me back immediately to Frankfurt, Germany. I miss it there, so much it's probably not right. I suppose I'd dreamt of being there for so long that when I finally got to live there, I adopted it as my new home and hoped to never have to leave.
So, when we exited the vehicle and stepped out to begin the couple of blocks to the Market, it was Frankfurt all over again, but not quite as crowded. When we entered the Market, the view from the upper level, looking down on all the vendors' booths, etc., was just so deja vu...
I suppose there is a reason and maybe someday I'll get to KNOW for sure, WHY, but is just eats away at me: the longing for the European life. Is it the Gypsy in me trying to surface again?? Maybe it's the fact that for most of my stay there, I was completely free to roam and go, no kids and virtually no responsibilities...? Yeah, that sounds about right. Regardless. I long to go back overseas. I want to see the brilliant countrysides and the architecture again, from CLEAR eyes. Even the OLD people look healthier, there. The ruddy cheeks on everyone....
Sometimes I think it's stupid for me to entertain such thoughts. that I would ever go back again, yeah right. It's not like flying has become less expensive, OR safer. But for whatever reasons, it just felt safer there, maybe because I couldn't understand what everyone around me was saying; b/c the news was NOT in my face everywhere I turned (No English-speaking channels other than the Aafes channel, and that couldn't compete with looking out the windows!), and so I was not reminded every waking hour of the miserable state of affairs on the planet.
I dunno. NOT that I'm not grateful for the multitude of blessings we have here. Don't get me wrong! Maybe some of it was just the stark contrast between the small-town life I'd been brought up in, for the most part, compared to the huge city adventures of the metropolis...
I dunno.
The boys and I watched the original Muppet Movie a couple of days ago. I still remember most of the words to all of the songs. So, in ending this rambling post, I leave you with a line from the title song, "Rainbow Connection":

"...I'm going to go back there, someday."

Check it out, your local library probably has a copy of it. I think watching it counts as doing something good for YOU. :o) AND the kids will love it.