Living a Dream

Today we left church and start driving West to the mountains. Every year make an annual road trip to see the fall colors and this year didn't fail to disappoint. These trips have proven to be three of the best days of our marriage. The first year we drove up the Delaware River, spent the night in the Catskills, Drove down the Hudson and finished with an impromptu stop at the Statue of Liberty. The second year Jess was home on leave from Iraq. We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Harper's Ferry and finished the trip with a visit to Shenandoah National Park.

This year we didn't have much of a plan. We just started driving. About an hour into the trip we decided to stop by Winchester, VA. I've been working on my prerequisites for Physician's Assistant's school and Shenandoah University in Winchester has a great program. We wanted to check the school out. It seemed perfect. It was a small campus nestled on the edge of the mountains. There was a beautiful pond on campus and a huge playground full of kids nearby.

I think the trip was so fun because Jess and I spent the whole time pretending we might live there and it felt like a perfect fit. The down wasn't too big or too small. There was no traffic. We didn't have to pay for parking. We found the local church and checked out neighborhoods we might like to live it. There were even running trails we promised to try out one day.

The highlight was taking JAC to the playground. It was full of happy families, not distracted nannies and exhausted parents. We both held one of JAC's hands and he practically ran around the playground laughing at other kids and giggling when Jess helped him go down the slide. Other parents teased us about how proud we looked but we couldn't help it. We both felt very joyful.

Jess and I both admit that we would love a change of pace from D.C. We have great friends here but this city can be a bit lonely and tiresome at times. We know Winchester isn't perfect but it was nice to spend a day pretending and it is nice to have a guy around who is willing to share the dream.