The City Looks So Nice From Here...

I was on my way to work today, just like everything other Thursday afternoon, with my headphones in, again, just like every other time I walk to work. Usually, the weather determines the playlist. On rainy days, I gravitate towards Mat Kearney. Other days, I usually go for Jay Z or Kanye... you know, to stick to the "street life of Boston" feel that the streets of Mission Hill bombard you with. So, as I was turning onto the side street today that I know way too well, I did something that I have never done before... I scrolled down to my country playlist and started for Tremont.

This place has become so familiar to me over the past few months. I walk the same route four times a week. And everything has a place. The paper on the stoop at 27 Worthington. I swear the people that live there only come out at night. The sidewalk that ruined the toes of my boots. The Irish flag hanging outside of the clearly Japanese-owned nail salon on the corner of Tremont. The most beautiful church I have ever laid eyes on. The occasional black jacketed "street worker" with stack of orange tickets and a trail of pissed off drivers. The same crossing guard at the St. Alphonsus intersection. A familiar face, but no name. The trash blown against the fence lining the public library. The Mission Hill mural on the corner of Parker Hill. That god damn door outside of work that often decides it doesn't want to open, despite the fact that it's buzzed you in four times.

My 0.97 mile walk has proved to be a mini vacation for me, day after day. It's where I clear my mind. It's that little window of alone time that I need to keep me sane. The noise drowns out my thoughts...and it's amazing how helpful that can be.

I'll always be the naive country girl that trusts too easily, doesn't look both ways before crossing the street, and forgets about sales tax...but I can't help but see that I'm converting. This place has a hold on me. It might be because it's a perfect spring day. It may be because the sky is blue for the first time in days. It might be because I got offered an incredible job this morning. And accepted. It may even because tomorrow is Friday. But today has been a good day.

I love this city.