Daily Hits of Happy: September 5, 2020 - 358 - "Everyday Magic in San Miguel"

You Can't Explain Magic

What you can't explain about San Miguel, to anyone who hasn't spent time here, is that it is magic. (Actually, you can't always explain it to people who have been here.) There's a distinct line between those who 'get it' and those who just don't.

But, for anyone who can sit still for a moment and take very deep breaths, they will start to experience it.

It's in the air, in the light, in the smiles of locals and tourists alike. When you can let go of the seriousness, the fixed timeframes, 'have to's' and 'ought to's' of the Calvinistic and capitalistic mindset, you get to actually enjoy life.

To me, what it means to live in San Miguel de Allende (when I don't allow home reno. complications to keep me from really relaxing) is to experience an unending series of synchronistic magic.

I guess relaxing and breathing is the secret anywhere. But being in the midst of hectic life; it's easy to forget.

Stop Stressing Long Enough to Let Things Happen

This morning Michael and I had coffee on the rooftop...for about three hours.

We actually didn't even finish our coffee...it sat getting cold while we played.

There were no workers coming today, so we got to sweep up dust and trash in and around the piled up construction debris. Then we set up the roof the way we want it to be. You know...someday, when it's no longer a construction site. We got out cushions, moved pots around, then checked out the new views from every seat in the house.

At one point, Michael said it would look nice to have some of the geraniums on the wall behind the couch. I put two pots there. We stood back to see it's effect.

'Yes, definitely!', to the pots...if they were in lower planters, but 'No,' to the white geraniums. Michael suggested red geraniums would be better and I agreed. (So far, a lot of the plants we have were left from past owners. Michael lovingly tended and resuscitated them in the long months when he was here on his own overseeing the project.)

Abracadabra! Presto Chango!: Geraniums

About a nanosecond after he'd said the words 'red geraniums,' he heard people talking in the street below and looked over the front wall to the street. Here's what he saw:

Traffic was slowed down behind the trash truck...and there sat a wheelbarrow full of flowers...including two red geraniums.

Three women came out of their house to discuss purchasing flowers from this man.

Michael ran downstairs, threw on a mask, and went out in the street to negotiate for the man's red geraniums.

Michael told the man he'd like to have the two and asked if he could get four more. The man said, "No problem. It will take me about 45 minutes to get more."

They agreed on 50 pesos per pot. Michael started to pay him for the two pots. The man said he'd just get the money when he came by with the rest of the plants. Here's a blurry 'Before' picture.

And the wall with the first two red ones. Pretty!

About 30 minutes later, the buzzer rang...and there were the additional four plants.

And here's a picture with the six red geraniums (we put away the cushions because it's supposed to rain this afternoon):

The Strange Thing

I have never noticed anyone selling potted plants on our street. I have never seen anyone wheeling by with a barrow full of flowers.

Maybe they have but, since I didn't have a need, I didn't notice? But, I don't think so. For sure, it's not an everyday thing.

But that's San Miguel in a nutshell: You say you want red geraniums and they, quite literally, appear at your doorstep. We've had so many synchronous things happen like this.

More Wishing to Do

Now we just need to loll about this evening discussing our desire for two more pots to put the geraniums in. I'm sure God/San Miguel de Allende/the Universe, whatever you want to call the cogs that make the world spin around, will work on the request. All we have to do is wait for them to appear.

Thank you, Universe!

---