Here it is Wednesday morning and I’m finally sitting down to unpack the holiday weekend’s events. This past week it has been difficult to find quiet place to sit and think. Andy’s girlfriend Amy is visiting so I now have two graduate students in residence. Their “quiet” study pervades almost every area of the house. A friend used the analogy of an inert gas – filling every possible space. So true. But, on the flip side, it’s nice to have them here.
Back to the weekend…. Saturday morning we were up and on the road to Richmond by 8:30 to pick up a full sized mattress and box spring from Maggie and Jan. They just upgraded to a queen and we wanted to replace the twin bed in the little guest room. My how times have changed that I simply accept the opportunity of free bedding while totally disregarding the fact that my daughter is purchasing bedding with a man who is not her husband. Our life is not a perfect one, but nonetheless, it is a good one.
With the mattress and foundation securely bungeed to the top of the CRV, we headed home. We decided to return on US 33 instead of the interstate to avoid the holiday traffic. Dave said he’d have a less anxious ride if he didn’t have to concern himself with driving 70 mph with a load on the roof. The idea sounded good to me since I love travelling the back roads. Besides, we had the Garmin with us so even if we took a wrong turn (which was really not a risk since we were staying on US 33 the entire way).
Rural Virginia is beautiful. This spring especially we’ve had plenty of rain so the fields are green and lush and the flowers plentiful. Long stretches of the highway are lined with post and rail fences portioning off tidy farms with rolling hills dotted with horses and cattle. Every once in a while we’d see an old charmer, an ancient salt box farm house, greyed and drooping in a field, a reminder of those who travelled the road before us.
Dave and I really enjoy these drives together. Sometimes the solitude prompts deep conversation but other times, like this one, we simply enjoy the quiet together. Since the CRV doesn’t have a satellite radio and the reception in Central Virginia is localized and sketchy at best, the only sounds in the car were road sounds and the occasional thump when the breeze caught under the box spring on the roof. At each thump, we’d peek at the side mirrors, reassure each other that the load was secure and drive on.
We passed through several small towns, including Louisa, one of the towns hit hardest by last summer’s earthquake. The signs of the towns trauma were evident; Thomas Jefferson Elementary School condemned and surrounded by a security fence and down the road an ante bellum brick manse with scaffolding securing both chimneys. Despite these challenges, the main street was lined with flags and patriotic decorations in preparation for the towns’ Memorial Day celebration. They too, overlooked the imperfections and celebrated what was good in their lives.
Our trip on the back roads took about half an hour longer than taking the interstate. The extra thirty minutes spent was well worth the quiet time together. I don’t know if we’ll go that way every time we head to Richmond, but if the weather is fine and we’ve got the time, that’ll be the way to go.