Yesterday was a pretty typical Saturday with the exception of one soccer game that was cancelled due to low numbers of players from Spring Break. Jared and I split up: I had Caleb's game, he had Liam's, and Gavin and Jonah got to entertain themselves at home for the 10 minutes during the cross-over. Caleb's game was played at Crozet Park where we have spent many, many hours in either soccer, swim team, or baseball and it sits at the base of the Blue Ridge offering some of my favorite views. Yesterday I sat in the midst of 3 other families I carpool with, two are Presbyterian and two of us are Mormon. We talk about everything from Spring Break outings, where to find the best skiing on the East Coast, and how next Saturday the two Mormon boys will be helping out the two Presbyterian boys in a community service project. I then spent about 20 minutes talking to another parent/friend whose winery has become a big success out in Free Union, one of the most picturesque areas in all of Albemarle County. I told him that I'd planned to bike by his house that afternoon if the weather warmed above 55 degrees and he invited me, as always, to stop if I needed anything.
Caleb and I headed home after a great game....they won 3-0 against the team he was on the in Fall, and left because the team was really falling apart. We watched most of the first session of General Conference and then it was time for that ride. I haven't taken my bike off the trainer in more than two months because I'm a whimp to cold weather biking, but it was finally 60 degrees and I was more than ready. The day was picture perfect and I didn't realize how much I had missed my rides along rolling pastures of open space dotted with livestock, vineyards, the swollen creek, and the beauty of riding along the base of the Blue Ridge mountains. At one point I stopped to stretch my back and the only thing I could hear was the wind blowing gently, birds chatting, and one idling car or tractor or some other motor off in the distance. Then I thought back to those soccer conversations and realized as I have many time before, how much I love living here in Charlottesville. Not only is it one of the most beautiful places I've ever lived, I love that my children learn about what it means to be a good person from the many friends of different faiths they have. I love that they know that good people come in all varieties and that even though most don't show up with us on Sunday, they can be found in their own places of worship. I love that those same friends can ask questions about Mormonism and that the boys know what to say and never shy away from what their religion means to them. I also love being friends with people who supposedly make great wine and that I can keep pestering them about making a nonalcoholic version! I love that last summer when my bike shoe lost a vital screw, two people stopped to help and a third drove back to his house to retrieve a screw and a driver to replace the one that was suddenly missing and that he ended up being the brother-in-law of the man who was at my house 3 days before pumping my septic tank! I love seeing "regulars" at the small town grocery store that has surprisingly good finds, and more than anything I love that when I asked Caleb if he was interested in doing a community service project for several hours with his Presbyterian friends he is thrilled!
Charlottesville is where I wanted to raise my children and where I wanted to wake up every morning years before we actually ended up here, and I feel extremely grateful that my dream came true.
No comments:
Post a Comment