“I heard it in the many quiet moments I spent reading out by the boats this summer and through the buzz outside a bar on warm evenings. It echoed through the walls of its neighborhoods and through the chatter of friends old and new. I hear it even now as music plays through my headphones, as I watch the city move and play like a silent film.”
Fells Point, July 2018
A woman stops to take a picture of the sunset. Another, to embrace a friend. One man is yelling at another man, and I am not sure why.
“Anything else?” the waiter asks.
I take out my headphones and let the sounds in. “Nothing for now,” I smile.
I’m staring at the city I started a love affair with a year ago. Holding it with the embrace of a sad goodbye. As I sit to watch the warm summer sun set over Baltimore, I remember the moment that has brought us closer together…
…I’m not sure where I would be next summer, but, a few weeks ago, I asked myself what I would do differently if this summer was my last in the city…
That’s how it started.— I spent the rest of my summer exploring the city every chance I got. I may not have been certain about much, but summer, I was sure would not last forever, so I did everything to enjoy every bit of it—dancing by the docks, warm evenings sitting out on the terrace of a restaurant, the frosé!, the laughter, the new friends, the old ones. I took none of it for granted. & Baltimore, with which I had started a summer fling, never looked so beautiful.
Reminding myself that these moments would not last forever changed everything. My summer felt like a film(it’s why I edited the images to look like an old film)—every special moment froze a frame longer while I met it with deep appreciation. I allowed the moments to be what they were without judgment. And I learned so much about myself, about life, and about this city when I allowed it all to just be without trying to escape it the present.
I allowed the city to tell me its story and I listened quietly for it. I heard it in the many quiet moments I spent reading out by the boats this summer and through the buzz outside a bar on warm evenings. It echoed through the walls of its neighborhoods and through the chatter of friends old and new. I hear it even now as music plays through my headphones as I watch the city move and play like a silent film.
“Here’s the check whenever you’re ready,” the waiter returns
Thank you!
I’m beyond grateful! As I welcome a new season, I couldn’t be more thankful to God for blessing me with a truly wonderful summer. I’d be lying if I said this summer was a perfect breeze with no worry in sight because it wasn’t. What I am sharing with you is what I did to overcome that. How gratitude and appreciation for the small things made a big difference. There’s probably no better way to look at the good and the bad in life other than recognizing that it too shall pass.
That’s where this love story began.
Sometimes I can’t help but wonder, was it the city I fell in love with, was it life or was it myself. Truthfully, I believe it was all three.