Nostalgia. What comes to mind when you hear that word?
For me, it’s always my Grandmothers house. We spent two holidays a year in Florida almost every year of my childhood to see my grandparents and those are some of my most cherished memories.
Little details stick out to me like the CD players on the long car ride there, the “finger jello” their neighbor would make for us if she knew we were coming in town (and the STALE animal crackers she would give us as well), the way my Grandmothers laundry room smelled, or the Original Nintendo that my cousins and I would fight over while sitting on the floor of their bedroom.
Sitting on my Granddaddy’s lap, licking the batter bowl in Lake City, FL
When we would go to church with them on Sunday, every time, my Granddaddy would stand at the beginning of the service from their pew and state that “My son, Mike, his wife Caroline, and their three kids are joining me today from North Carolina” and everyone would smile and welcome us…. every time.
When my grandmother had a friend who had a surgery or death in the family, she would whip up these heavenly potato bread rolls and take them to them…. every time.
“Finger Jello” was there to greet us… every time.
Community was a way of life. The heartbeat of a generation that isn’t so far past. The internet was still young and my grandparents FORWARDED jokes to us via email…. do you remember those? Long long strings of ridiculous jokes all forwarded to each other… and my Grandmother would print every single one, y’all.
In such a short period of time we have become distant and can’t operate without a screen in our hand. We have a world of information at our fingertips and somehow that has made us stupid. Do you still remember having to memorize all of your friends phone numbers? I used to know their phone number AND address by heart.
Anyway, this walk down memory lane for me might resonate with you somehow- or maybe it won’t.
What I am trying to say is that my vision for the future of our market is to be moving backward while going forward. Making a priority out of caring for our community in a real and personal way. What a blessing it is to have the market and meet neighbors I wouldn’t have met otherwise. What a treat to bump in to people in town and ask how their kids are getting along at school. Or drop off a care package for someone who is sick. Or RECEIVE an encouraging message from a vendor who heard about my Aunt passing away and took a moment to check on me. (Thank you, Annette)
I know I am not the only one who misses the old days in this way.
What does the word ‘nostalgia’ mean to you? Tell me in the comments.
