I’m a self-proclaimed city girl. Outside the humidity & heat of a Florida beach, I feel most at home on the crowded streets of midtown Manhattan. I lean toward the liberal side, though I am a firm believer in keeping an open mind and respecting the beliefs of others. I’ve never been a huge fan of country music (though I have a serious soft spot for bluegrass. Go figure.).
This weekend, I stepped outside my comfort zone to visit one of my closest friends in the mountains of Virginia. I swam in a lake at night where I could see fish in the day. I was surrounded by a constant stream of music played by a large group of genuinely talented musicians. I drank from a mason jar. I listened to country music and actually kinda liked it. I gained three new pseudo-family members. I had a great weekend.
It was great to disconnect from technology and social media and reconnect with a close friend I haven’t gotten to hang out with as much since we moved to different states. All thoughts of things that need to be done, trips that need to be planned, and financial and time concerns got left behind in Raleigh as my life mentee and I headed to a stress and drama free weekend. The lake and the people that came with it were amazing.
Any concerns I had of not blending in being “north” and all were completely gone the second we stepped into the house and were greeted by our adopted SML mom and whisked away to go night swimming with a new batch of friends. A wide variety of ages and personalities were represented throughout the weekend, but everyone was so accepting and friendly, the only (minor) disagreements came over sports teams. And even those were mostly teasing. The love and sense of family was so intense it was obvious even to those of us experiencing a SML band jam for the first time.
I realized as I was driving home that despite the many differences, it reminded me a lot of my Long Island Italian family. There are often a bunch of us around, some of us blood related, some not. There is always enough food for the group and then some, just typically pasta and desserts instead of grilling out. There is often sitting around for hours, not necessarily doing anything that costs money or is particularly organized, but rather just enjoying each other's company. And there is always room in the family for more "cousins" no matter where you're from. The lines blur between friends and family.
Words cannot accurately express the effect this trip had. I may have spent the weekend doing things somewhat out of the ordinary for me and trying new things, but thanks to my adopted SML fam, I felt right at home :)
I realized as I was driving home that despite the many differences, it reminded me a lot of my Long Island Italian family. There are often a bunch of us around, some of us blood related, some not. There is always enough food for the group and then some, just typically pasta and desserts instead of grilling out. There is often sitting around for hours, not necessarily doing anything that costs money or is particularly organized, but rather just enjoying each other's company. And there is always room in the family for more "cousins" no matter where you're from. The lines blur between friends and family.
Words cannot accurately express the effect this trip had. I may have spent the weekend doing things somewhat out of the ordinary for me and trying new things, but thanks to my adopted SML fam, I felt right at home :)
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