What is it like to live in Paradise.. really?
Here I sit in the lovely town of Provincetown. Across the street is the beach, and the water of the bay. As as I watch the sky go from gray clouds to the dark of night I am reminded how lucky I really am. To sit here in the middle of paradise, even in my small slice of it is priceless. People come from all over the world to spend their week here and I get to wake up every morning in paradise.
That said... living in paradise comes with its own challenges. We have the luxury in Provincetown that the SEASON is only 10 weeks really. We stretch it out to before Memorial Day and continue themed weekends up till November, but it really is From July to Labor Day if the weather holds. This year has been quite challenging. As the west coast is baking, and the center of the country is tried with rain we seem to have a difficult time stringing together more than a few days of sun and warmth. I have turned on the AC once, and tonight am thinking I will need the Duvet for the first time since June.
The other challenge... is for many people this is a holiday and vacation destination. I remark that it is a challenge of living here but really not working in town. We tend to forget people come here for vacation, and that memory is fleeting when it is a friend or family. We pull them in to our daily lives when really they want to go to the beach, or a whale watch, or just sit on the porch here and people watch. So... I was reminded again today to remember that people come here for their own holiday and not to burden them with my daily life and challenges here.
That said.. there is a reverse challenge. People who come to visit will forget that others here are actually living their day to day lives here. They want the people in town to drop everything and line up their schedule to fit their vacation schedule and that is not always possible either. For example, locals who work here work harder as the weather improves and the visitor wants their company even more.
The nice thing in Provincetown is the season will end. The locals who are here year around will start to breathe again and the town will shrink back to a livable size. Maybe, then the visitors will be less frequent and those in town will get to enjoy a little sunshine and time.
I would never ... but I certainly am happy these challenges only last a short while here.
That said... living in paradise comes with its own challenges. We have the luxury in Provincetown that the SEASON is only 10 weeks really. We stretch it out to before Memorial Day and continue themed weekends up till November, but it really is From July to Labor Day if the weather holds. This year has been quite challenging. As the west coast is baking, and the center of the country is tried with rain we seem to have a difficult time stringing together more than a few days of sun and warmth. I have turned on the AC once, and tonight am thinking I will need the Duvet for the first time since June.
The other challenge... is for many people this is a holiday and vacation destination. I remark that it is a challenge of living here but really not working in town. We tend to forget people come here for vacation, and that memory is fleeting when it is a friend or family. We pull them in to our daily lives when really they want to go to the beach, or a whale watch, or just sit on the porch here and people watch. So... I was reminded again today to remember that people come here for their own holiday and not to burden them with my daily life and challenges here.
That said.. there is a reverse challenge. People who come to visit will forget that others here are actually living their day to day lives here. They want the people in town to drop everything and line up their schedule to fit their vacation schedule and that is not always possible either. For example, locals who work here work harder as the weather improves and the visitor wants their company even more.
The nice thing in Provincetown is the season will end. The locals who are here year around will start to breathe again and the town will shrink back to a livable size. Maybe, then the visitors will be less frequent and those in town will get to enjoy a little sunshine and time.
I would never ... but I certainly am happy these challenges only last a short while here.
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