The Saturday morning rhythm has started to feel more natural. Waking up early to load up the flowers. Driving the empty streets to market. Finding our spot to park. Unloading. Figuring out the order of set up. The neighbor vendors smiling their good mornings. A friendly face walking over to help pop up the tent. The quiet that is the time just before it opens, with only the sounds of everyone getting ready. It’s feels like an unspoken rule that all the vendors keep their voices low, storing up energy to engage the customers that will start strolling by in the next minutes. There’s a community in that quiet. A lovely shared common goal of cooperation and competition to sell and earn and share smiles.
The feeling of discomfort at this new endeavor has evolved into a little more ease with the whole thing. It’s nice to be recognized by vendors and customers. It’s nice to know how the vehicle needs to be loaded for the smoothest set up. It’s nice to feel relaxed enough to start noticing how others set up their spaces. Watching market goers stroll by and starting to get a feel for what pulls them in and what doesn’t is a fun and educational experience.
And the students return this week. This will be the first time we take this into additional classrooms and really start to formalize a curriculum and structure. It will be exciting to see how newer students and parents take hold of this program. There are moments when it feels completely overwhelming and impossible. But then there is such energy with the start of the new year and in all those eager minds and bodies that I feel confident in the path forward, if the details are still a bit fuzzy.
In all, this summer has been a beautiful series of lessons, successes, challenges, and, most importantly, shared moments with friends and young colleagues. I can’t wait to see what the next phase of this journey holds! See y’all at market this week, maybe with a few new faces, but most certainly with gorgeous bouquets!