My apologies for the original journal entry that reeked of the soapbox. I just spent time with mom who said the earlier one was too heavy so here’s a bit more of our funny bone with a side of giggles before bed.
Growing-up in Singing Bridge, we learned the true meaning of Hygge - the cozy and comfortable lifestyle that's the perfect antidote to our mental health crisis. You can forget about chasing the highfalutin lifestyle that's all the rage these days when you have animals to chase. And let's face it, chasing after a stubborn goat burns way more calories than a silly spin class.
Speaking of goats, we had a little Houdini on the farm named Bitsy. She had an uncanny ability to open all the gates, making sure our animals were not just free-range, but had free rein of the farm. It wasn't uncommon to see a parade of tall blond Palominos trotting up Vermont Route 14 to feast on the apples at Orchard Valley. What did our neighbors do? Call the police? No, they dropped what they were doing to help us round them up and fix the fence that Bitsy had done her best to jigger for the next breakout.
Singing Bridge is all about community, where everyone knows your name and your goat's name. But don't worry, we won't hold it against you if you can't round up a runaway goat or fix a fence. We've got plenty of duct tape and zip ties for you to fix our cars. Just don’t forget that fixing fences and rounding up runaway farm animals counts as cardio around here.
We don't discriminate in Singing Bridge. Whether you're a city slicker or a country bumpkin, we've got a place for you. Where pitchforks are valued over Prada and lawnmowers over Lamborghinis. We take care of each other in Singing Bridge, even if it means taking turns giving each other the Heimlich maneuver after inhaling Janet's "Christmas crack" (some crazy chocolate caramel endorphin-pumping delight) before your sister figures out where you hid it.
But Singing Bridge isn't just about good food and shared elbow grease. We've got plenty of time for daydreaming, journaling, and napping in the fields. And if you're feeling motivated, we've even got a yoga and meditation circle where you can try to find inner peace while slapping away horseflies. And let's not forget about the benefits of being a part of Singing Bridge. It's got all the neurological benefits of an exclusive Relais Chateau, except instead of fancy wine, you get to indulge in the finest Barr Hill knock-off that our local distiller brews up in his bathtub.
Singing Bridge is not just a place to relax and meditate. It's also where we showcase our cooking skills. We'll take fresh food off the farm over a Michelin-starred dinner any day. Trust us, our secret ingredient is love, not truffle oil.
The best part? We all have a Singing Bridge to come home to. It's the place where you can reinvest in your community and find your people. So before scheduling an appointment for more meds, come grab a shovel and hug from our big, dysfunctional family. And if all else fails, just remember the wise words of Confucius: "If you can't duct it…” or was it something about “if you can't round up a goat” oh forget all this literary nonsense and just show-up and feel loved.
Here’s to Hygge and embracing the big warm hug — from our dysfunctional family to yours — and “perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words -And never stops - at all”
Celina
Dear Celina,
Please lobby Substack so that we can “like“ a column in both the original, as well as the rewritten incarnation.
The highfalutin life was fun – been there, done that. But times have changed, and the world that I grew up in, where honor mattered, and where truth mattered no longer seems to exist.
Netscape, the first Internet browser, was released in May, 1995. Seven months later, Fox News took to the cable airwaves and started to tear down The big D democratic party and little D democracy.
Fast forward a couple of decades, and we get a failed businessman/ConMan turned television star elected president. Everything is ME ME ME NOW NOW NOW. Facebook and Twitter seem to rule the the world and far too many people get there information/misinformation from the Internet. People spend so much time looking down at their “smart“ phones that they forget to learn how to interact with real people. Teens will be in a group texting with one another rather than actually talking. Families no longer eat dinner together. Everything has become time lag zero.
It’s enough to make you want to throw open your window and stick your head outside and scream, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take it anymore.“
So sign me up for your Singing Bridge. I don’t know how much longer the good Lord is going to give me on this planet, but I would love to spend it with you, Celina.
Your SC
Oo, C ,
This one is so you, as they say❤️The first one was true ,but this new way of looking at it all helps us laugh at our selves, instead of blamed and endlessly sad about the mess we’ve all gotten ourselves in.( Maybe ,Through the playful eyes of a goat , shall we say!?) But as Peter so wonderfully wrote, sticking our heads out the widow and screaming we’re MAD As HELL! feels pretty” right on”!
Your ever Lovin Mum ❤️