IT TAKES A VILLAGE

Her wonderful sense of village life is the main reason I always grab the newest Louise Penney book every year.  And have done so for 20 years. 

I’ll admit her storylines sometimes confuse me.  Some characters leave me wondering and the books themselves can be a tad bit long. 

But, oh, that Village. “The Village of Three Pines.”  That’s what I miss all year long. And then, voila!  It comes back.  Filled, of course, with all the inhabitants we’ve come to know and love through the years.  And with Ms. Penney’s elegant prose tucked around each to bring them to life.  Again.

This year, I’ve been struck with her almost poetic take on the village.  It’s made me long for a village of my own.  But then I realized that I’ve actually “lived” in three different villages. 

Not a single one of them was structured with bricks and mortar. There were no paved roads or leafy trees but they were villages in the truest sense of the word.

My villages were comprised of people dedicated to the tasks at hand, to contributing their very best and, most importantly, being part of the whole. Egos were left at the door. Spirit, laughter and commitment walked in. We did whatever we needed to do to get the work done. All together. 

And like Ms. Penney’s villages, I can bring them up in my mind in a heartbeat.  Because that’s where they live now.  And always will.  Maybe you’ve lived in one or two of those wonderful villages yourself.  I certainly hope so.