Eyes on the Prize

We’ve sold our car to our mechanic and will turn it in to him the day before we leave, paid our final rent bill, sent change of address to our health-care provider, the post office and social security. Jack had his last day of work last week and has started to pack, thank God. I’m not a last-minute kind of person, and he is (I can thank his toilet training for that). It shouldn’t bother me, after twenty years together, if he does it his way, but it still makes me stress seeing his full closet, knowing how much we have to do to get everything ready for the movers to put our things into storage. But I’m starting to sleep better with so much crossed off our list of to-do's.

We’ve met friends for good-bye lunches, brunches and dinners, and are looking forward to a get-together planned for next week with my children, my neice who lives in DC, and all of their children. It will be an eventful year for my family in Maryland, with milestones to celebrate for every one of them. There will be much to miss here, but I don’t want to dwell on that. Some friends and family are already on our calendar to visit during the year. I’m free now to feel excited about the year ahead.

Mexico loves its fiestas, and San Miguel de Allende is king. Looking at the SMA calendar, I see three fiestas listed for the second half of July when we’re there. We will have missed El Desfile de Los Locos, the Parade of the Crazies, which took place in June. I’m sure I will eventually get tired of the noise and the confusion, with crowds dancing through the middle of town, but right now I’m really looking forward to the parades, the mariachi musicians, the dancers in local traditional costumes, the men carrying giant, heavy religious icons, and the special dishes prepared for feast days. I have read that often one wakes up up in the middle of the night to a round of loud explosions and not to worry, it’s only the fireworks that Mexicans are in love with, looking for every excuse to shoot them off. Endless blasts, bangs, booms. We are definitely bringing earplugs. Our landlady tells us that our street is a very quiet one, even though it’s only a seven minute walk to El Centro, where the main action takes place. I’m hoping that’s true, because I’ll need a respite from the noise and chaos.

The city used to host an international guitar festival in the past in July, but I’m not sure it will be happening this year because of Covid. There will be a film festival and a short film festival happening then as well. We’ll check the Que Pasa news to see what’s on. We’ve read that there are movies now re-opening for audiences limited to 15 people, and a play in a theater that's re-opening. The city is getting back to normal and there will be so much to enjoy. Jack plans on renting or buying a bike, and and hooking up with other riders his age and level for trips on the trails. He watched a harrowing you-tube ride by some guy on an e-bike zooming through the narrow cobblestone streets of San Miguel de Allende, but Jack won’t plan on riding with him. The Academia Hispaño Americana looks like a good language school for me to enroll in, and with writers from the Literary Sala that hosts readings and lectures and workshops, I hope I’ll be too busy to worry about Jack off on a rocky trail in the mountains on his bike.

We leave in two and a half weeks. There are still things to take care of here before we go, so this will be the last post I write until we get to Mexico. Can’t wait to see you from the other side of the border!