The Currency of Caring…
Wednesday afternoon just after 2pm I walked through the village of Woodstock on my way to a a local favorite café. Temperatures approached 60 degrees. Mon Vert Cafe is a family-owned popular farm to table restaurant. Loved by both locals and tourists. All good things Vermont is served daily…
I had cautiously only ordered takeout from Mon Vert during the pandemic but this past Wednesday I went in, ordered, and sat down upstairs as I had done countless times pre Covid. Early that morning I had made plans to meet a new friend to talk all things art. While art was the scheduled topic for our meeting the conversation quickly shifted to life with art merely dabbled in. These days issues surrounding life, our lives and preserving life are the topics foremost on our minds…
The restaurant was less busy than it usually is as we are between seasons. Ski and mud. Mud, our quickly approaching fifth season. The quiet before the upcoming tourist season is relished. I love this time of year when the locals fill the streets and businesses. Sitting nervously yet contentedly at a table with the warmth of a Chai Latte before me and the early spring sun streaming in a neighboring window, I waited for my friend to arrive…
A couple. Young parents and a little boy joined me in the charming second floor space. A toddler. He walked around enjoying the open space and the sound of the creaking floor under his slight body weight. While exploring the upstairs he came by to say hello to me. Well, he was more interested in my phone than me but none the less. As he walked toward me, I recognized that certain yet uncertain stride of a new walker. I asked the dad “how old is he?” Seventeen months he responded which blew the barn doors open for me to chat about my 18-month-old granddaughter, Belle. Any time and any place. All things Belle. I am that grandmother. I make no apologies…
This beautiful small little person came over to me with his arms held high asking to be picked up. I asked his parents if that was ok as not only was I a stranger, but Covid has caused additional warnings and concerns. “Of course,” they said. I couldn’t tell if they were happier to have a brief break from chasing this healthy child around or pleased that he was interacting with another human. Didn’t matter to me as I was thrilled to help either way while I waited for my friend to arrive. Vaccinated and boosted I immediately shared as I placed this sweet child on my lap. Quickly moving my hot cup of tea while sliding my phone into my purse we just hung out for a bit. I showed him some of the local art on the café walls. We talked of trees and mountains. Colors and the sky. I chatted with his parents about their pandemic experience during pregnancy, delivery, and stressful attempts to socialize a child while we were isolated. So many challenges…
I asked my new young friend if he was having a snack given the proximity to midafternoon? A sandwich had been ordered I was told by dad. I couldn’t help but wonder if lunch had been delayed as they anticipated a less crowded restaurant. Naptime also may have also delayed the noontime meal. Possibly just needing to get out of the house while accepting a calculated Covid risk? The brief amount of time my new little friend was occupied with me and in my care, I noticed that the couple relaxed and eagerly chatted with one another. Wonderful…
My friend arrived. We chatted and chatted some more. A delicious and sincere trusted conversation was had. I saw the café owner’s father as I was getting ready to leave. We hugged and hugged again. While it may have been a long time since we had pandemically seen one another the great relief exhibited in our mutual smiles was more about the understanding a friend was “ok.” I don’t remember seeing the young family leave, but I do know we were all hungry that afternoon for what nourishes us most and is so basic to being human. Caring for one another…
“It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.” John Joseph Powell
