9 August 2010

Part III

I finished the day today around three o’clock, and I’m exhausted. I’ll have to get used to the physical labor, but hopefully it won’t take me long to acclimate. I drove the twelve miles into Blue Hill this afternoon. Blue Hill is the closest big town, though I use the term big loosely. Compared to my general store/library/post office town, it’s a booming metropolis. I went to the Blue Hill Library for their free wireless Internet and updated my blog, posting the 8 August 2010 note and the Part I and Part II of today. Then I went to the grocery store, purchased the items on my list, and headed back to my apartment. My apple zucchini bread is in the oven as I write this, and so far the fire/gas alarm has not gone off. Knock on wood.

A lot I’ve told about this four-month venture have asked the same question: What are you going to do if you find a man there? Well, there are a lot of men here, but I know people are really asking about The One. That cracks me up just to write it as I feel that I am much more down-to-earth to believe in such a fantasy. Don’t get me wrong, men are fascinating creatures and marriage is a gift, but I prefer not to look at both with too many stars in my eyes or unrealistic expectations. Relationships, especially marriage, are hard and require work, and I think too many times that’s forgotten. I suppose I’m at that point in life, though, (at the ripe old age of twenty-two) at which people (namely, my grandmother) begin to wonder if I’m going to be single for the rest of my life. At the moment, it sure looks like it, but I honestly don’t know that I have the time, energy, and patience to have a man in my life right now, and I’ve always seen myself marrying when I’m older, in my thirties or so. I’m only twenty-two! I have my entire life ahead of me!

I have to admit, though, that I’m already a little bit lonely. Even as someone who, more often than not, prefers solitude and quiet, over the last few years I’ve learned the incredible value of friendship, of companionship, of community. And while I love this place already, I wouldn’t mind someone to share it with. I’m certainly not praying for a man, but I am asking God to send me a friend. In whatever shape, form, or fashion he sees fit.

P.S. The apple zucchini bread cooked without a single hitch. And it’s delicious. Wish you were here to sit down and enjoy a cup of chocolate milk and a slice of hot bread with me.

Center Harbor