This weekend we decided to really take in our new surroundings in Delray and go to the Delray Affair which is an outdoor arts, crafts, and music street festival that has been held for 51 years in Delray Beach. It used to be in celebration of the gladiolas that were in bloom and ended in the crowning of Miss Gladiola in the 1940's-1950's. It has evolved over time to become what it is today.
The festival is held on Atlantic Avenue which is full of boutiques and great places to eat. The festival had local artists using repurposed lobster traps for frames as well as local vendors selling honey infused with key limes and aged balsamic with blackberries (just to name a few). The kids enjoyed old fashioned root beer made with cane sugar in a tin mug with free refills. Oh the sugar rush!
When I first moved to Florida and was searching for a place for all of us to live, I lived in a condo in Delray. Nervous to explore it alone, I took my Sundays driving up and down A1A with the top down and the tunes on. I usually drove down Atlantic and loved the small, beach town feel the street exuded.
Little did I know we would basically end up where I started a little over two years later. We loved Delray Beach so much even before we moved. It became "our" beach. Many weekends we made the 30 minute trip from Coral Springs to Delray just to enjoy the beach and play in the unusually calm waters. Now we are 1 mile away from our beach and couldn't be happier!
I guess I love it because it really reminds me of downtown Oxford, Mississippi with a little bit of the Cooper Young District (Mid-town Memphis) thrown in. It is charming and quaint as well as electic. The crowd is a mix of young singles, married couples with children, retirees, and the inevitable snow birds that crowd South Florida from October until April each year. There is always something going on in Delray and usually it is centered around family which is rare to have events where everyone can participate. We are looking forward to the Green Market, 4th of July fireworks, and the massive Christmas tree lighting where Santa visits via helicopter. We met "santa" this weekend while tasting those aged balsamics. He has been a part of the Delray Christmas experience for nearly 20 years. We are excited for what this year will bring!
Saturday evening at church with the high school life groups I help lead, we were discussing contentment and what that really means. I thought I would summarize what I took away from the lesson.
Contentment in today's culture is not in society's vocabulary. Everyone is always striving and working towards the bigger, the better, the next "thing".
Along the way we lose site that it really isn't the end goal but the journey along the way. The people we encounter. The lessons we learn, or don't for that matter. We look for and work for what we think will make us happy only to discover it is short-lived and did not meet our expectations. Working towards a goal is a good thing. But while working we should be happy, not resentful in our tasks. This doesn't mean we should stop trying because contentment should not be confused with complacency. Be satisfied with what you have as that brings joy. Joy is much more meaningful and longer lasting than happiness.
I realized something after hearing the lesson on Saturday. For the first time in a long time I am no longer bitter over the robbery. Yes, it is still painful to have lost such precious things that were the legacy of my grandparents and the sweet memory of the night Dennis proposed to me with the ring he had custom made. I am still fearful that I will again walk in on intruders in our home. I still feel so violated and vulnerable at times.
But, we have picked ourselves up, dusted off, and become stronger as individuals and as a family. We made tough sacrifices in order to move to our new home in Delray. However, we are learning more and more each day that it is really worth it.
Though I would love some things for the new home and to tear out the exisiting landscaping (like yesterday, I hate bushes!); I don't need it right now. I am satisfied, I am content. Through this awful experience we have found peace and even joy.
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