A Bad Assumption

I am home. Its nice to be around the familiar and to blend the things I brought back with the things we already had here. Some family things that we had been storing at my parent’s house. And some that my Mom and Dad wanted to make sure I had from their home.

But night is day and day is night. I’m all mixed up. I slept when I got home and woke up 9 hours later at 3 am. But then it wasn’t light yet so I made my way down to the beach to watch the sunrise. I have missed the sea and the light here. Something about it speaks to me. I walked 11 km on a nearly deserted beach and had a coffee at the only place open (curious) before heading home on the tram. The majority of those I saw were 20 somethings clearly dressed from the night before.

I saw the deserted volleyball school Emilie went to all summer last year and it made me miss her terribly. She’s back at school for her final year and hardly needs me and my sage Motherly advice anymore. The tick-tock of the clock gets louder.

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I felt smug having beaten the heat of the day and already gotten in a good long walk. The streets here are strangely deserted. Something I lamented last year in August but this year am finding it nice as I transition back into normal life. I am the only person in our building so the elevator stays at our floor and waits for my next adventure. There is no hustle and bustle outside. Even in the middle of the day there are hardly any cars on the streets and even fewer pedestrians. And the air is sort of misty with humidity. Like those filters they used to use on Barbara Walters during her interviews. Making everything softer around the edges.

There is a saying ‘If you assume, you make an ass out of u and me.’ Well, today that was never more true. I arrived in Valencia in time to go to the grocery store but I decided to postpone it until today. But what is today? Assumption Day. Ironic, I know. The day the Virgin Mary was ascended into Heaven. An important day in Christendom. So important that nothing is open. And by nothing, I mean nothing. How that coffee place on the beach was open I have no idea. But the rest of the city is shut down tight.

Being that I’m upside down on my time I forgot what day it was and headed out with my trolley. Jeff hasn’t been here in nearly two weeks and I needed supplies. It only took me two grocery stores with the shutters down to clue me in to looking at the date on my phone. The light went on. Ah yes. This was why the few people I encountered on the street looked at me like I was crazy to be pushing a grocery trolley. Clearly I had no idea what day it was – their looks of pity told me this. And they were right. So much for checking my own blog’s holiday calendar.

So tonight my dinner consisted of the chocolate bar Jeff left for me in the fridge, a bowl of popcorn, and a can of lentils. High fiber, to be sure. Like a picnic in a college dorm. But tomorrow is another day. I’m hoping against hope that I’ll find my way onto the right time before too long. But no more assumptions. I checked the calendar and it looks like I’m safe until early October on the grocery store front. So tomorrow we dine!