Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A Place To Sit



I recently joined the community garden just across the street from my apartment. It is called The Amazing Garden and it is, indeed, amazing. It has many places to sit and raised flower and vegetable beds. It even has four barbecue grills.

I have lived in New York City since March of 2005, which puts me at seven years in this town. Perhaps I am considered a 'real New Yorker' even if the requirements for garnering this title are unclear (I've heard as little as five years and as many as fifteen.) In all seven years, I have never had an outdoor space, a little patch of land, even a terrace to sit on.

It is one of the things I like least about living here. Being outside is what I crave most. Ever since I was a little girl. I finished my homework as quickly as possible so I could barrel down the front steps and call on my friends. And in the summers, I played outside until the sun dropped in the sky.

Even now, I try to spend as much time as I can outdoors, riding my bicycle, browsing farmers markets, sitting in parks and at rooftop bars, walking along piers. But it is not something I can do with ease. It is not as simple as stepping outside and sitting down with a good book.

The Amazing Garden will, hopefully, eliminate the problem. I can, quite literally, step outside and have a place to sit within seconds, without having to pack up my bike and find uncharted territory in New York City's overcrowded parks. And the grills...oh the grills! We already had a small barbecue for Tyler's birthday on Sunday.

Someday I hope to look out at acres and acres of land that are all mine. I could live in the tiniest shelter imaginable. I've already survived years of unimaginably small quarters in New York. But, I dream that I will have grass and trees and hills.

Right now, I have a place to sit. It is a start.

8 comments:

  1. That sounds wonderful! I know what you mean about just needing a little bit of space to be outdoors. I lived in the city of Chicago for awhile and didn't have that kind of green space either. My deck was really just the landing of the outdoor stairwell, it wasn't enough to put more than a small planter on!

    I love the idea of community gardens. Are you able to use the grills, too?

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  2. I am so glad you now have a lovely garden near you! Being outdoors is therapeutic, a necessity for the soul. Enjoy!

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  3. The Amazing Garden sounds wonderful! I'm so glad you've found a place to be close with nature. It's good for your soul. :)

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  4. Wow this is great! A garden is one thing that I miss living in a flat and I would love an allotment or a garden like this. Enjoy it!

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  5. I am going to join you in this garden someday, so we can talk of many things—certain amusement parks, wines, bike rides, dress shopping. For I have much to say, have simply been drowning in the unsayable crunch of work.

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  6. Just wait until your book sells and then you can realise your dreams. In the meantime, it is great that such a lovely outdoor space is provided and that you are making the most of it.

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  7. The Amazing Garden does sound amazing--so happy you've found your little piece of "outside". I've only been to NYC once, for a weekend, and loved it. I can't imagine what it would be like to live there.

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  8. If you can dream about it, then it can happen. You'll have your own patch of ground someday, and won't have to live in a garden shed!

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