It's our day off today and I'm craving pizza. The nearest parlor is 30 minutes away in the closest town to where we are. We stopped by there last night on our way home from a shopping excursion in Bozeman. We were going to grab a pizza and bring it back to devour after we finished unloading the groceries. There was only one young girl working last night and she was seriously in the weeds. When we arrived, she was painstakingly constructing a pizza while another couple waited patiently to place their order. She greeted us rather timidly, refusing to make eye contact, and asked that we wait until she was done before she took any more orders. Ten minutes later we left. I wasn't sure if she was glad or sorry about our departure. She was doing her best. I had to respect her effort to exert a little control over what was clearly a difficult situation. It was getting late and we were starving. Since we still had to drive another half hour home and unload the truck it was time to cut our losses and hit the road. Today I'm still thinking about that girl and her pizza. Although I'm beguiled by the idea of a crusty, gooey pizza, studded with jalapenos and sausage, it's the image of that girl, alone in her kitchen that tugs at my imagination. I wonder what she was thinking and how she came to be there, all by herself. There's a story there somewhere.
Today is dedicated to relaxing and simply letting things roll. We've been getting too caught up in the small details of our new environment. It's hard not to over-analyze what we say and do, the best way to handle different situations, the best dishes to prepare, and the smartest way to build our pantry. It was a struggle to actually take a day off. We're only cooking for a small number of people this week and it almost feels indulgent to take a day off. We know we need it though. Sometimes it's hard not to lose yourself in the minutiae. There are so many new ideas to play with here. There are so many new people to learn from, here and through the website. People are asking tough questions and pushing us to work harder and learn more. It can be a struggle because there so many ways to second guess ourselves. We do our best to live up to it all.
I'm still trying to adapt to this new way of life. People are more relaxed here. They're neighborly and they smile a lot more often than I'm used to. The speed limits are high and often ignored. Very few people seem to be in a hurry here and the big clouds of dust from fast moving cars are often the out of towners. As a native New Yorker this can be tough to absorb at times. On the rare days when we leave the property it's showing me a different way of life. It's a place where a lady who's trying to buy a bottle of oil because her car is dead is gifted with what she needs. Upon asking if she could pay for it, she is simply told to pass it on. Spread the warmth and be kind to someone else. Situations arise and people simply go with it. Plans change, times change and it's all just fine. This kind of attitude is not my forte but I'm learning.
