Memories

 We are all officially on summer vacation!

On Friday Timmy celebrated his final day of school with a virtual party and an in-person smorgasbord of all of his favorite treats. At 3:30 promptly Scott and I fired up the Bluetooth speakers and gleefully serenaded Timmy with a rousing rendition of "Schools Out for Summer."  Unfortunately, we later learned that he had not yet logged off, so it turns out that his class listened to our rendition before closing the term. 

Saturday morning Scott and I put on our funeral clothes and headed back to Northern Virginia for a Celebration of Life. A co-worker's son passed away. Because Scott and I have both worked with her and have remained connected via Facebook, we wanted to go to extend our support. I suppose the scant attendance at my brother's funeral continues to sway my decisions. If I am able to attend, we are going to go.

It was weird being back in our old stomping grounds. While we were so excited to leave for our next adventure, the area holds so many memories for our family. I lived in Virginia for 25 years, longer than I have lived anywhere else. Virginia is where I met Scott and where we became a family. Driving to the funeral, I was flooded with memories of both the extraordinary and the mundane events of our lives. Each store, stop light and park seemed to flick open another memory portal to our past. By the time we arrived at the funeral I was feeling both overwhelmed and horribly depressed.  

We just don't have those connections in our new home. I know that these types of memories are formed through time, and that we need to be patient. After 18 months, we still feel like strangers in the area. I am still struggling to find friends, and we are so lonely. We miss Virginia, but we also know that we cannot go back.