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Village Café

A Time for Plans

I have decided to keep the Café open during these winter holidays.I had neither special programs nor family engagements while, on the other hand, people who were still around here at the Village might have appreciated its warm atmosphere. There is very little worse than, during “official” holidays, finding that your neighborhood has suddenly turned into a ghost village, with not even a lonely cow-boy in sight (the chef suggests reading this last remark accompanied by some typical Western tune).

Ida was a new client of the Café; she had decided to step in for the first time after a walk in the almost deserted Village.   She was sitting at the bar, looking at her mug. "Any more coffee?" I offered.

"Yes, please" she replied.
"A sudden attack of Christmas blues?"
"I’d rather call it a ‘bout the end of the year blues. I always feel like this when the old year is nearly over and the new is nearly here. I cannot help drawing a line on the blackboard and listing what I’ve found and what I’ve lost, what I’ve done and what I’ve left undone, the promises I’ve kept and those I’ve forgotten about. And I rarely feel satisfied with what I read."

I started telling Ida how I was brought up in a family quite respectful of traditions and ceremonies.  When I was very young, I had to recite a prayer to the Guardian Angel every night. And since I could not sleep to order, I kept on thinking about this Guardian Angel looking at me and judging me for my misbehavior.The "well-done" section of the blackboard was usually destined to things I had to do to please other people.The "no, no!" section was full of little sins I had committed following my own young will - so I often felt ashamed of what I was at the same time more proud of--poor little thing!

"From then on", I added "I had written so many lists on so many blackboards…"
"And you still feel ashamed of things you should be proud of?" Ida asked.
"No, I don’t." I replied. “After some time and a lot of work, the "well-done" section had started to include more and more personal projects supplanting other people’s expectations. You said you are going through ‘bout the end of the year blues? Well, this is not a revision time for me.

"The transition between the Old and the New Year is so sudden I have just not enough time to think. The count-down, the booms, the toasts, the songs; you dance and dance then you walk back home, your most elegant shoes in your hand and when you wake up you only have to change calendars around the house and that’s it-- you are in the New Year.

"I usually bring my blackboard with me when I leave for Summer vacations," I continued.
"Well, I’m not with you.  Summer is for wiping boards and leaving lists at home, don’t you think?"
"Perhaps it should be, Ida. But I think I have never recovered from ‘the student syndrome’ and I still consider September as the beginning of everything. September is the time of the year I feel more energetic and full of enthusiasm. That’s when I make plans for the future. To me, New Year’s Eve is more a time for wishes. But I do not think mine is a widespread habit."

"Who knows? Maybe you could just ask. Why don’t you hang a message board on the wall and ask your clients to contribute with personal experiences and thoughts? You could even set a theme every now and then for reflection or discussion."
"Why not? I promise, I’ll think about that. Thank you, Ida."
"I made you make plans this time of the year too, didn’t I?"
"Well, yes. I guess you did."
"I’d better go now. See you next year."
"See you tomorrow, Ida. And best wishes to you and all the Village!"