Prima Domenica

Today was Prima Domenica -- the first Sunday of the month. And Prima Domenica is celebrated by a local Catholic church (it's a church that dates waaaay back to the beginning of the state of Colorado, almost and has been Italian that long). After the mass (all given in Italian except the homily), there's a breakfast served to the parishioners.

For the first time in a very long time, I was in a community where I didn't know a single person. I have no problem attending mass alone (I do this frequently), but it occurred to me that this is the first time I've been somewhere social where everyone else knew lots of people and I was completely unknown to any of them. They were serving wine (yes, in the morning) and coffee so I chatted with the guy behind the counter for a bit. It wasn't any time before I got to know quite a few other people as they were all super friendly and I found myself in conversations about everyone's experiences with Italy. I will be returning for future Prima Domenica celebrations. Community is what I absolutely love. There is nothing better than eating with others and seeing people together with their family members also enjoying the togetherness.

And the rest of the day had a similar theme: Amy and I went to N. Boulder Park to skate ski.  The conditions were terrific and there were tons of people out there. I was happy to be back on the snow for the first time this season and practice this very technical sport again. I'm still not at all good at it, but I got in a decent workout and that was the goal. I ran into one of my teammates and a co-worker who I haven't seen in years. N. Boulder was the place to be today.

And the day ended with one of my neighbors serving up appetizers (unexpectedly) so I ended up in some fun conversations with my dear friends who are right here in the building. Perfect considering I was not about to go out for any reason after getting back from skiing (too cold out there!) Again, awesome community and sharing good times with good friends. What a lovely weekend. This is what happens when I haven't over-scheduled myself and can just enjoy the simple pleasures life has to offer.