Oh Yeah, Life Goes On

Gonna let it rock
Let it roll
Let the Bible belt come down
And save my soul
Hold on to sixteen as long as you can
Changes come around real soon
Make us women and men
(John Mellencamp – Jack And Diane)

Good Morning little local market of love customers…another sunshine kind of day, a start to the weekend, and a perfect time to begin the planning of your upcoming week, what you will need, how we can help, and how we can off you amazing local goodness with ease, with love, with pride.

Lately, I have been reflecting. Reflecting on all of the changes that I am going through. Adapting to some of the changes. Running with other changes. And then, on some changes, when I really let myself think about them, I find myself needing the comfort of my friends, my quiet, my need for the familiar.

I chose this song lyric and song, today, because it transports me back to 1982. I have been thinking a lot, lately about that year. One of the reasons is that a few weeks ago, my graduating class of 1982 had an impromptu casual reunion. The invitations came via a group text. It came out of the blue, it sounded fun, but it also came with a bit of nervousness. I had not reunited with my class, as a whole, since I moved on in 1982. I have my West End gang, and the few people I have stayed in contact with, but as a whole, I would be revisiting my youth. My glory days, although my glory days were long put away.

The last time I had been in contact with my best friends, my early circle, had been when we all departed for college that fall of 1982. I remember this song was a song that we played, over and over and over, that summer. We took a big vacation, all of my girlfriends, on the open road, off to the beach. Suddenly, pictures were being sent via texts, from that vacation. I sat and smiled, and remembered, and was excited for the mini reunion.

The same week, my daughter began the process of moving to her new apartment. You all know she moved home after graduating college, last year, while she found her post college job, saved money, and planned her next move.

The same time frame, the new business that I am a part of, with your other market manager, had hit it’s huge stride. Like explosion status.

And, as with every summer, I had Art Affair thrown in, that takes my life, my time, my energy. I love it, but man can it drain you.

So, with all of this, I went to my reunion. I had a 1982 playlist happening on my drive. I emerged into the patio of the restaurant, and suddenly I was pulled into one hug after another. Suddenly, drinks were being ordered, all around, and just like that, we were those crazy kids of 1982. Each time someone else walked in, there were more screams, more hugs, and then my inner circle was reunited. And, we spent the rest of the evening reliving, catching up, and now we are all connected, once again, like we never parted. I get daily group texts from my high school pals, and it feels so good to know that while everything changes, some things really do stay the same.

And, my daughter moved. It was so very hard, this time. When she moved off to college, and Italy, I knew she would be in and out, back and forth. This time, well, this time…she is an adult, out on her new path, her new life, in her new pad. I am so proud of her. So excited to watch her next steps. Another change.

So, with all of these changes, and getting used to a new business that already has growing pains, and being overwhelmed with the tasks of the summer, I found a bit of quiet comfort in cleaning out a forgotten cabinet in my kitchen. In doing that, I found my very first cookbook that I got when I was 5 years old. I sat, and flipped through the pages, and smiled, and remembered the recipes that I was always dazzling my family with, back then. And, in the back, was a photo tucked into a page. It was a photo of our 1982 group, right after one of our high school proms. We were all snazzy, and tanned, and had sun kissed hair, and we were all smiles, and our dates were all fresh faced boys, and we were all waving to the photographer, and right there, in my kitchen, I embraced all of the changes of this summer.

Embracing change is one of the hardest things to do, but for me, it’s made easy with piecing it together with a bit of nostalgia with a dose of the familiar.

Like this market…the comfort in this market, for me, is the familiar, and the nod to local food at it’s simplest. Local food is not trendy. Local food never left us. Like all of the changes I have gone through, this summer, the local food scene has gone through twists and turns but in the end…it’s here. It’s always been here. And, we want you to experience a trip back to the familiar.

Take a look at our market. Take comfort in the fact that we are you local familiar. Give us your trust and your orders. And, we will give you the familiar love that has always been here…

Peace, Love, Good Vibes…
Cosmic Pam