Love at first sight

As far as first impressions go, Virginia, you have won me over.    I know we won't live here forever, but it's a pretty great place to be for awhile, even I have to admit.  Maybe it's the warm sunny days, the delicate Virginian breeze, the soft slight southern drawl of the locals or the friendly conversation.  Maybe it's just our neighborhood with its myriad of young professionals, mothers and babies and dogs, I might add.  Or maybe it's the rhythmic choruses of crickets from the ravine merely twenty meters from our back deck.  But whatever it is, I'm hooked.

People are very friendly here.  Almost everyone I have met has greeted me with a smile.  They want to know about Abe and they ask me questions about Gabriel.  We stop and chat at the dog park as we wander through. I went shopping the other day and asked for directions.  The short, stout, slightly grey-haired woman greeted me delightfully with "Didn't you just show up on time!   I'll walk ya there!" And spun from her original direction, face lit up and waved me along.  She walked me straight to the small appliances at the other end of the store jabbering the whole way. 

This part of Virginia is very very diverse and my ears are still working hard to decifer the wide variety of accents compounded by my lack of knowledge of various colloquialisms.  For instance the cable guys were talking about "juice" which I later came to realize meant power.  I laugh.  And you know when a conversation is over here.  I am used to the reciprocal "Have a nice day." "You too!" But here, the conversation is over when the person says "Uh hun." As in "Have a nice day!" "Uh hun." 

So it looks like I may need to brush up on my Spanish.  The lovely young nanny across from us who cares for two girls (aged two years and seven months) speaks only Spanish and barely a word of English.  And while she is delightful, she rambles on in Spanish, face alight with excitement as if somehow, in the magic of the moment, I will understand her.  She is there every day so it's a language barrier that we will have to cross.

Being in Virginia also means embracing my youthful love of country music.  Bet you didn't know that I was a country music fan.  Well, when I was about eight, my childhood friend, Dianne and I used to sit for HOURS listening to country music or watching it on TV singing loudly at the top of our lungs to Twila Paris, Bonnie Raitt, Shania Twain and other various artists.  Since being here, Jordan and I have decided that country music is just more wholesome radio music....   And funny to listen to as well.  I never thought I would see the day when Jordan would sing "Truck, YEAH!"  at the top of his lungs before bursting into hearty laughter. Best thing is that I feel like I already know all the lyrics.  I like to think I am the missing member of every band.

Yes, I miss Squamish with all my heart.  I miss my dear friends and their babies and I miss our house.  I cannot wait to go back.  But for now, we have a pretty good life here.