Do the Thing…

…Plus a Senior Discount!

Almost everyone I know has something they wish to do, but keep putting it off. Yesterday, I did one of those things and it was magical!

I have been putting off going to Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House for years now. I first realized it was about an hour from where I live about ten years ago. Life, however, was very busy with work, a new grandchild, and then an unexpected move to Ohio. Once we settled back in New Hampshire, in 2019, covid struck. 

Yes, I know there are some capital letters in covid. After living as a long-hauler for over 3 years, I’m not giving it the “honor” of any capital letters. 

So there! 

Ah, but I digress. One of my favorite authors, Kimberly Cates, recently encouraged me to go to Orchard House. I’m still a little nervous about driving long distances, in case my brain fog rolls in. Right now, my max is 20 minutes from home. (which is better than it was a year ago!) 

So, I stepped out of my comfort zone and “Did the Thing.”

I asked a dear friend if he wanted to go. Not only did he say yes, but another dear friend decided to join us! So, instead of a solo journey on I-95 into Concord, MA, it became a group outing.  I should mention that I have known these two for decades and we get together once a week for dinner at a local Asian restaurant. They are fun to be around and it’s just awesome growing older around them! The memories from yesterday are so fresh in my mind I know some moments will stay with me forever. 

However, when we first pulled up to Orchard House, I was so smitten, that I kind of forgot my friends! I just smiled in the light falling rain and snapped what is probably my eighth selfie in my entire life. 

We stopped in the gift shop first, to hopefully avoid temptation afterwards. It wasn’t because of the potential to want to buy more things, but because we wanted to avoid the worst of the Boston rush hour traffic heading home. I chatted with two of the women working there. One of them was wearing a lovely burgundy scarf with owls on it. For some reason, owls have been on my mind even more than usual lately. I complimented her on the scarf and the two women started talking about the fact that Louisa’s room has many owls. I forget how many, but it was a good handful!

I bought a t-shirt that caught my attention, right before we headed to a nearby building that used to house The Concord School of Philosophy. It’s also the building where a schoolhouse scene was filmed in one of the latest movie versions of Little Women. Our guide encouraged us to sit there if we wanted to say we spent time in a movie set. 

So I did. 

I sat there with my trusty notebook and erasable gel pen and took notes while we watched a wonderful movie about Orchard House. I don’t usually like intro videos, but this one sparked my interest in learning more about the Alcott family. I’ll be spending time this weekend, and beyond, doing research into their lives. 

From there, we rejoined our guide to Orchard House. The staff there are so wonderful and down-to-earth. Listening and talking with them was just as much of a joy as seeing Beth’s piano, May’s (Amy) artwork (and in so many amazing places), the Rodrigo boots (IFYKYK), and so much more! The combination of the people and the peek into the lives of the Alcott family truly made the house come alive. I already feel a pull to go back.

And yes, there were a lot of owls in Louisa’s room. I fell in love with one of the paintings of an owl! 

Yes, I found a copy of it in the gift shop…and yes I bought it for my office.  

As we started to leave, I decided to go back in and ask our guide what subject she taught. She had mentioned teaching high school teenagers and something in the back of my mind said it had to be English. I could easily have spent more time chatting with her! 

So, back I went and I ended up passing the woman in the burgundy scarf. We made small talk and I asked where she got the scarf. It really spoke to me (which is weird because scarves rarely do that…stuffed animals on the other hand, well that’s a story for another time). She said she didn’t know, then asked if I wanted it. I was momentarily dumbstruck as she removed it from her shoulders and walked over and handed it to me! 

“I think this will bring you more joy than it does me,” she said as she walked off to The Concord School of Philosophy building to gather her next tour.

So, again I say “Do the Thing!” You never know what joys you will find until you do it. 

Until next time,

Llivin La Vida Llama! 

Orchard House

Senior (and College Student!) Discount as of 11/10/23: $12 for ages 62 and above