Thursday, March 8, 2012

my hips don’t lie, either

I feel as though I stepped off time.  And  I can’t tell you I’ve done anything exciting.  Thanks for your inquiries and kind words, I still have some time to go before the wee babe is here but trust me I’m counting the days! This might be the most I’ve read in my life as I’m hauling around a big belly on top of a bad hip. Hopefully someday I will laugh at the amount of time I spend perched on the yoga ball with a book in hand. With spring around the corner I find my spirits awakening from their slumber. It has been a long winter and the best part is right around the corner…I’m grateful for that!

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Sometimes in life people have full circle moments and recently I found myself in the midst of one of my very own.

It started last spring while house hunting. Driving through Concord MA (a town I knew little if anything of) we drove right by Orchard House, the home of Louisa May Alcott. It was as if appeared out of nowhere.  We abruptly stopped and parked in front and I cried.  I don’t know why I became so emotional.  Little Women was probably the first classic book I read on my own accord when I was young and like so many other young girls I loved the March sisters and was instantly bonded.  I suppose I didn’t know the house was actually real and there it was looking exactly as it should.

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Since that day I have been back to Concord many times as it’s where my Doctors are.  Aside from the Alcott house I instantly felt at peace in Concord.  I told my husband early on “I’m not sure why I just love this town.” I love the streets, the old houses the eclectic little Main St shops.   Henry and I go to my appointments and roam around aimlessly.  Inevitably we end up at the too-expensive toy shop where I buy him a Lego guy that costs $3.18 (with tax) and he plays with him on the long drive home.  We’ve been in Orchard House, it was what I wanted it to be but at the same time it spun me into a frenzy of reading and wanting to know more.  I had to hold myself back as I couldn’t stop asking the tour guide questions. 

Recently my dad told me Concord is where his mother grew up. I never knew that, I have always wondered about my grandmother.  It never felt balanced to be so close to my maternal grandmother yet not know anything about the other.  I can’t help but feel it’s no coincidence to fall in love with this town and by pure happenstance to have my baby there. 

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That’s my full circle moment.  Maybe it’s weird or silly and you’re wondering why I don’t know much about my Dad’s family. I’m not sure why I don’t, his parents had him late in life and were gone before I knew them.  My Dad is kind of quiet about some stuff, I guess it’s just always the way it’s been.  To make it even more interesting Ralph Waldo Emerson lived across the street from the Alcott’s house and that’s my maiden name.

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And if you don’t mind me blabbering on, did you know Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau lived just down the street? Can you imagine what that was like?  All those transcendentalists with their new ideas and writings?  We quote them and refer to their brilliancy when in my mind they were kind of like modern day hippies. They took such risks.   Which is great really, it’s too easy to look at history and think glossed over thoughts.  They struggled and bumped their way along their paths in life. Just like you and me.

 

9 comments:

Unknown said...

As I was reading this post, my heart started to beat faster. I hold the same curiosity as you do, for whatever reason, homes speak to me in the most profound way. It's just a knowing and an interest that goes beyond words. The connection we feel is deep, and again, beyond words I can find.

I recently had this happen when I went to the play "Becoming Eleanor" she was Queen of England and Queen of France (Eleanor of Aquitaine), I have such a deep connection with her for some very odd reason.

This post was special, and I learned from it. Blogging is about feel good moments and not so feel good moments and a good history lesson too!

Love sent to you and all you love.
Jacqueline
Once Upon a Fairyland

It's Just Dottie said...

I was so very happy to hear from you! As I read you post today I thought " Oh be still my heart."
Smiles,Dottie

Maggie said...

Gorgeous writing followed by gorgeous picture, created by an even more gorgeous human being. You're words inspire me everyday. I'm so happy and so proud I am able to call you my mother. You are incredibly strong and exceptioanlly talented. Through the thick and thin, we'll always be close. I love you with all my heart.

xxxo, maggie.

Dog Trot Farm said...

Yearly, I make the trek to Orchard House. There is something about that house that just draws me in. I love the town of Concord, it's rich history, wonderful old homes and of course poets row. All very moving. Thank you for this wonderful post, sending well wishes. Julie.

Barbara said...

Some of my favorite writers ... it would be wonderful to walk where they walked (and into their homes)! If it makes you feel any better, I got all choked up when I saw the wild ponies on Assateague - I think I memorized the "Misty" books when I was a kid. I couldn't believe they were really real!

Unknown said...

IM SO JEALOUS! In a good way of course! Little Women was also the first classic I read and I can't count how many times I've read it since! Jo is one of my best friends ever! How lovely it must be to live near Concord and walk the streets my literary heroine once trod!

Unknown said...

AND it's great to hear from you again!

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

Wow, what a street to of lived. I can only imagine the conversations on the after supper walks 'round the block!

Loved this post sweetie, soooo well written and the pictures are wonderful.

God bless and have a fantastic week!!! :o)

Leila said...

I think the docents at Orchard House (and also at the Old Manse) are so interesting and informative! When we went through last year, I felt that my whole life was flashing before my eyes. I felt the (fairly whacko) spirit of Bronson Alcott arise within me. These are the formers, for better or worse, of a good part of my imagination! Yikes. Love that Louisa May. Just imagine if your dad had gotten a moldering old house and smacked it on the back of your already moldering house... or your husband for that matter. What a crew! Explains a lot about me and what I think is do-able.