The Lies We Tell Ourselves

We thought we'd be able to sign papers on our house on Saturday, so Craig and I geared up to make what we hoped would be our last trip to Manassas for a while.  The paperwork didn't end up being ready on time, but we had other loose ends to tie up, so in a fit of optimism we all made the trip anyway.  Craig had to be in one location acting like a grown-up, so I figured it would be fun to swing by our house and let the kids play in the backyard one last time. 

Unfortunately, nothing went quite as planned.  None of the kids' friends were around when we arrived, so they spent the entire time fighting and getting bit by mosquitoes (despite the fact that I brought bug spray and insisted on them using it).  The house was kind of dusty and cobwebby and had resorted to its old smell from before we moved in.  (All of you who have ever been to my house, PLEASE tell me it didn't smell like that while we were living there?!?!?!)  And the whole thing was kind of sad.  Once Craig was able to join us, we did spend a few minutes sharing our favorite memory of the house, which was very nice until my neighbor popped in to say Hi.  (I love my neighbor and was very happy to see her again, but I wish she could have given us just five more minutes first.)  And by the time she was done gabbing, we needed to leave, so we didn't really get to finish or take a picture like I'd wanted to do.

To make matters worse, most of the people I had hoped to see in Manassas either weren't around or were busy, so I only managed to see one friend while we were there (but I sure was excited to see her, even if it was only for a few minutes!).

We did get to eat at Cafe Rio.  And on the way in to town, we stopped at the Moo-Thru.  So it's not like it was a bad trip.  It just wasn't quite the glorious-if-slightly-melancholy homecoming I'd been envisioning.

They say that you can never go home again, and it's true, I'm afraid.  As we were preparing to leave, I kept telling people that we didn't really need to say good-bye because we'd be back to visit.  And we have been back to visit, but it never is quite the same.  I was fooling myself when I said that.

My home is in Charlottesville now, even if a chunk of my heart will always be in Manassas.

Fortunately, I really do love Charlottesville, and more so each day.  We live in such a beautiful place.  So while I will always have very fond memories of Manassas, I am very happy here. 

This is a panorama I took from the top of Carter Mountain, a lovely orchard and farm near our house.  I think that the houses you can make out in the center are probably part of the housing development where we live, so you get the general idea of my neighborhood!