Creating Community....

I am amazed how quickly one becomes a regular in the community. They don't ask to see my membership card when I show up at the gym. I see many of the same faces as last year and we acknowledge each other though we may not speak. And when leaving this morning I see my friend who moved here a year ago from Chicago. They know how I like my capuccino at Nucha. When I walked into Piola, my favorite pizza place, late last night they acted as if I had never been gone and knew the routine. In fact the person with me asked if I went there often. I wave at the owner of the internet cafe, though I don't go there anymore, as if we are friends. The maid inquires about my son and whether or not he will be visiting this year. Is he still with his novia (girlfriend), she asks. We chat as if it was just the other day we caught up on each other's lives. This is the phenomena I noticed these past several months in Chicago as well. Though I like the annonymity of the big city it is so evident how quickly that fades as we follow our routine and begin to form relationship with those on the same path.