Happy Anniversary to us

Dear Charlottesville,

Today marks the one year anniversary of our first trip to visit you. We flew into Dulles and drove on down, marveling at the trees and wondering if this is where we could make our home. Within 48 hours we had made our decision and began to make plans to relocate the 800 miles from St. Louis. It was a long haul.

Since it’s our anniversary, we don’t expect a big gift. Dinner out would be nice, or maybe flowers. Don’t worry — we’re not mad. We didn’t expect you to remember our first anniversary; in fact, it’s like celebrating a first date anniversary, which, we admit is pathetic and so high school. We’ll wait for the big one — the anniversary of the date we moved in, to really celebrate.

Incidentally, a year later, we’re still very pleased with our decision. While we know we’re four (or five, if you count the dog) of thousands who relocated to Charlottesville in 2005, we’re determined to not just be exports but to contribute to the community in a meaningful way. We’ll spend our dollars here, get involved and engage — even more than we did back in that place we used to refer to as “home.”

Thanks, Charlottesville. You’re living up to your reputation.

STL Working Mom