With the shops and restaurants still closed, a friend organized a picnic today at Parque Mexico.
It was a beautiful day to be outdoors. Not too hot, breezy. We ate sandwiches and orange slices atop two sheets we’d unfolded in a shade patch. Dogs ran around leash-less. A toddler in a pink dress scrunched up her face and tried to blow bubbles. Vendors offered us empanadas, alfajores, straw tote bags, candy. (The candy guy won with his infomercial-style pitch: “I’ve got the Peanut Package, containing salted and japanese-style nuts. I’ve got the Gum Package, containing Sponge Bob gum and other known brands. I’ve got the…”) We sat around for hours and talked.
For the first time in awhile the city seemed… tranquilo. Not shut-down and panicked. Just relaxed. People enjoying their time with each other, enjoying being outdoors.
All of us never would have gotten together if it wasn’t for the flu.
And actually, I may not have gotten together with friends on Friday night either, when I was feeling so cooped up, a Condesa friend — also feeling cooped up — invited me over to her house for dinner. It was fabulous. Flor de jamaica quesadillas, wine, digestifs. A big spread on their rooftop terrace, with tiki torches burning. On Saturday we had a friend over our house and there was more beer, and more good conversation.
The restaurants and bars open on Tuesday, and I’m hoping to organize a “Back To Life/Back to Reality” party at a local bar. I’m dying for everything to open up again, but I gotta say, I’ve enjoyed the recent human-to-human contact. Maybe this is what things were like before the Internet.
(Dear God, that was not an invitation to take away the Internet. Love, Lesley.)
You pretty much described being married with kids. Most of our going out is to other people’s homes or having people to ours. It’s pretty amazing, but I do look forward to being more spontaneous in the future.