I think that August is surely the busiest month of the year. It is inevitable that no matter where I am in my life, no matter what I am doing, August is always going to kick my butt. It has definitely been the most crazy month so far this year at the store, and that's saying something. You just never know what is going to happen.
And sometimes, despite my best intentions, I let the craziness get the best of me.
Take, for example, Wednesday morning. I have gone to visit my Grandmother for tea. I have left said Grandma and driven to the local car-wash to clean and vacuum my car's interior in preparation for the trip to Betsy and Andy's wedding which will take place later on this same day in Kennebunk. I cannot relax unless my car is clean, for which I plead my type-A, OCD-edness. Kennebunk is about 2 hours away from here, if there is no traffic. Oliver and I were spending the night down there, and we were running late.
My mind is racing through all the things I need to do to get myself ready (buy wrapping paper, wrap present, write out card, do the dishes, pack clothes, shower) none of which I have done yet, when I come around the corner to the store and see about 20 different people sprinkled throughout the area. They are gathered on the store property, my property, the sidewalks, up and down the street, all throughout the Mills, and they are painting. More specifically, they are painting Watercolors. Watercolors of the store, of my house, of the bay, everything.
Now, normally, I am a big fan of the Watercolor painter. I have been known myself, during my Boston days, to get on the T (at Alewife station, no less!) with my bag full of tricks and a fold-up chair and spend the afternoon painting watercolors in the park. I looove painting watercolors. It is very soothing and quiet and pretty and I like the colors and brushes and control that you can get. In fact, for Andy and Betsy's wedding gift, I painted a watercolor of their house and Oliver made the frame. The point is: I consider myself a friend to the watercolor painter and would normally be thrilled to death to have a gaggle of painters on our property.
But not on this day. This day the painters had parked right smack dab in the middle of our parking lot, filling it up completely 45 minutes before we even opened. Crazy-Rhea parked her car and asked the nearest painter (who probably had no idea what hit her) what the deal was with all of the artists. She told me that they were all in a class, at which point I asked her if they would be there for a long time. They would be there until 11:30, she said, at which point another car came and pulled into our property AND it was chock a block full of painters with easels.
I would like to be able to tell you that I calmly and politely asked them to please move their cars, but I AM an Aries and sometimes things come out of my mouth that sound a lot harsher than I mean them too. They are straight, sharp, barbed little arrows of nastiness that fly out of me before I can even think. My aim is DEADLY and My Mom is ALWAYS telling me this. While I did ask them to move their vehicles I was perhaps not as diplomatic as I could have been in the situation. I offer up as an excuse the fact that I was super stressed-out, but, really I think that is not a very good excuse at all (Can you tell that I'm a Catholic and feeling a little guilty?)
So, if you haven't guessed by now where I am going with this, I just want to put out there on the internet for all to see, in the vain hopes that someone who knows one of these painters will pass the message along, an APOLOGY. Painters, I am sooo sorry that I may have been a teeny, tiny, blush of a bit angry with you for filling up our driveway, but it's the only one we've got and I was stressed about things that really had nothing to do with you at all. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I wish I could go back and react a bit more calmly but I cannot. As Popeye says, I yam what I yam.
So, there ya go. I got that off of my chest. Please, if you are painting a watercolor in the tri-state area and see me drive by, be not afraid. I assure you that I shan't make this mistake again, and watercolorists will always have a safe-haven at Alewives. Just don't park in our driveway.
Ta ta for now!!!
XOXO
Rhea
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