An all too Brief Hiatus and the Return of my Smile

Well, after a long week of mourning, jury duty, client meetings, a very cool social media conference, and some social media tutoring, I think it’s safe to say that I hit the wall.

For the last two days, I’ve not been able to accomplish anything.  I haven’t slept well. I’ve been feeling “off.” So, contrary to my usually push-through-till-it-gets-done philosophy, I took off yesterday and today.  I have a ceremony to write tomorrow, a house to clean, and emails to catch up on. But nothing I would have done for my clients this week would have been my best effort. So while this probably wasn’t as long of a break as I need, it’s been better than pushing through.

Scattered through my week were street fairs. Wookie was working a booth for his part-time job and I tagged along. (After losing Frankie we felt the need to stick together.)  By yesterday, I had found my smile again.

There’s something about a neighborhood street fair—that sense of community that envelops you, even if you’re not a part of that community.

The first fair was Wednesday night several towns away. It was a more professional affair with carnival games and rides. Eventually, it was called on account of rain, but I had a chance to take a few pictures before we had to pack up.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

©Cristina Kollet 2011

©Cristina Kollet 2011

©Cristina Kollet 2011

Saturday and Sunday we were at a smaller, neighborhood fair. This was a true community event. There were rides for the tiniest kids. Local women were selling delicious Spanish food to benefit the local church. 

©Cristina Kollet 2011

©Cristina Kollet 2011

 The entertainment was a mix of professional salsa bands, lip-syncing women in festive dress, and local teen talent. People cheered the performers—all of them with great enthusiasm. They brought chairs out from their homes to watch. All afternoon I saw hugs exchanged as friends found each other and people stayed and talked even when it rained.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

And there was dancing in the streets.

©Cristina Kollet 2011

I think that after this week—and after losing Frankie after such a long journey with her—this is what brought the smile back to me face.