Reasons Why...

...I love Lancaster.

• Market: I just bought tomatoes, avocados, strawberry yogurt, cilantro, spinach, Ric's fresh 14-grain bread, and provolone, plus a really good smoothie, all that for about $20 total. And I love the market vibe, all the local vendors, the bustle of people, the friendly rapport between seller and buyer, the wild mix of scents from places like The Herb Shop and the Thai stand, the underlying spirit of support for local business and good food... I even know a few of the stand-folk, like Christi and Sarah (and once upon a time, Fernando), or recognize others because they come into the cafe. No matter who someone is, they're always quick to respond to a smile.
• Work: Not always easy, not always fun, but generally rewarding and enjoyable. I can't see myself working in a cafe for the rest of my life, and yet I think that at this point in my life, God has placed me there for a reason. I am stretched regularly in interactions with customers as I learn more about selflessness, I am learning the meaning of excellence, and I am always finding new areas for growth. My co-workers provide an interesting mix of sisters in Christ who have been an amazing support as I've struggled through my first weeks back home and good friends who are either actively anti-God or have strayed from their roots and are now indifferent. My boss can be stern when necessary, but she is also warm and quick to praise, so that a reprimand is actually felt. I knew it when I first got the job and walked up Prince Street smiling at passersby like a raving lunatic, but (like couples who grow into a deeper understanding of love) I know it more fully now than I did then: I am so blessed to work at Prince Street Cafe.
• Springtime on Gallery Row/Episcopal Church at Mulberry & Chestnut: As I walked up the street today, I was struck by how gorgeous all of the brick and art was, the sun shining down on the lazily swaying branches of the trees that line that part of the street. There was Christiane David with the enormous, Georgia O'Keefe-esque poppy in the window, Cityfolk with a unique wall-hanging that caught my eye, the gallery that replaced the former, funky Metropolis... 
• People: Maybe it was just market day, maybe I was just particularly enthusiastic, maybe I've just been overly influenced by Southerners and I can't pass someone without meeting his/her eyes, but I swear I got more smiles out of people than usual. And that's not true of everywhere in the county... Last night, while I was waiting for my veggie sub at Sheetz I was looking around at all of the people, and none of them were smiling, from the grim, sad-eyed cashier to the lady with the inverted hair cut who was probably just buying gas on her way home from work. A smile makes or breaks a moment. Even in the midst of grief, one may still smile, though the corners of his mouth are weighted with the solemnity of the moment. It is only the distracted, the downtrodden, the fiercely self-absorbed, the truly pessimistic people who will not or cannot smile. And even they  can be pulled from their dingy world of dusk by the summoning of another's light.
• And it goes on... From the beckoning allure of the Winding Way Bookshop (I still haven't made it inside, but every time I pass I swear it is calling my name) to the cool beauty of the shade-lined streets to the sweet strains of a violinist playing to the world by the Market and Grant Street entrance to the sound of a friend calling my name... That's my Lancaster.