Small Town Girl
Celeste Malone had always said she was a small town girl and
that is what she would always be. Now
here she was 35 years old and wondering where life was going to take her
next. Her job as head librarian in
Summerville, population 9,000, provided a good living and had been satisfying
for the most part until now. She had
never married as she presumed she would, so there was nothing that dictated
that she should stay. Maybe it was a
midlife crisis, but she had begun to feel restless. Of course, she had traveled to plenty of big
cities, but always returned to the comfort of small town life. She had always sighed a sigh of relief as she
neared the city limits on her drive home.
She enjoyed seeing familiar faces as she walked to work every
morning. It is all she had ever known in
her day to day life.
Celeste woke up one morning and somehow things seemed
different. She was in a rut. There had to be more to life that this! Her best friend, Jo, was married and had 2
sons who kept her busy. They still took
in a movie once a month and occasionally had dinner together, but that was
about it. She didn’t have much of a
social life. Most of her free time was
spent, reading, watching TV, or her latest passion, cooking. She was addicted to the Food Network and
couldn’t resist trying new recipes. She
would try them first just as the recipe instructed and then try them again
putting her own twist on things.
“It would be fun to cook for a living,” she said out loud
one Saturday morning after fixing brunch.
She smiled at the fact that people who live alone talk to themselves all
too often. Saying it out loud, though,
made it seem like a real possibility. It
was a thought that took wings in her heart.
She began reading about culinary schools around the country. Having been frugal all these years, she had a
nice saving put away for a rainy day. She thought that rainy day would be a family
and kids to put through college, but it seemed that was not to be. Questions filled her mind. Was she too old, too set in her ways, too
unrealistic?
After a month of studying and thinking about what avenue she
might take to create a new life, she took the plunge at midnight while
online. She had been to the websites
over and over, but this time she had filled out the application and clicked the
send button. She had been somewhat relieved
to learn that it was not at all uncommon for people in their 30s to go to
culinary school. She had selected a
school in Portland, Oregon. It was almost 2000 miles from home and Portland was
a big city. It wouldn’t be easy and it wouldn’t be cheap,
but it would certainly turn her life in a new direction.
The first day of classes she stepped on the elevator and
someone she supposed would be one of her instructors smiled and said, “Hi, I’m
Charlie. I’m starting classes here
today. How about you?”
This was all nearly 10 years ago. So much had happened! Celeste and Charlie began a friendship that
turned into more. They married while
still in school and upon graduation bought a bed and breakfast and started a
family. Did I mention that the Bed and
Breakfast is in Seaside, Oregon, population 6,457?
No comments:
Post a Comment