Mommathon

Once upon a time a long, long time ago when I was in elementary school, my dad had his office in the River Market area. I spent a lot of time down there during those years. To get to my dad’s office you had to walk in this little courtyard area and up a pretty long set of stairs before you even got to the door that led inside and then to another set of pretty long stairs. There was a plant store downstairs and a bar beneath that. Across the street and down a ways was an Asian market and down from there was the market. You could go there on the weekends and wander around; my dad would chat with the vendors and get some yummies to eat from the local farmers. It was fun to go there with him because my dad knew everyone. When we went there to eat lunch or breakfast at one of the eateries, he always knew the owner and probably the waiter. He was friends with the man who owned the Old Chelsea and the man who owned the restaurant down the street where you could eat lunch in the caboose of a train.

Sean and I took the boys to the River Market today and I was kind of sad. It was teeming with people. It was so crowded it wasn’t fun and although there were definitely local vendors there, there were a lot of people selling goods there that definitely are not grown locally. Bananas anyone? We walked down to where my dad’s office used to be and it still looks pretty much the same. The plant store is gone though, as is the bar and the Asian market. His office building is now lofts and the long staircase I used to walk up has been painted neon green. I know that progress is good, but it still made me a little sad to see so many familiar things gone.