Ashland, VA

Ashland, Virginia....who would have ever thought that the only other place to really feel like home to me besides Washington, DC would be the little town of Ashland, VA....population of about 5,000 and the polar opposite of Washington.

Ashland is where I owned my first (and so far only) house......Ashland is where I lived when my daughter was born and where she was raised.....Ashland is just the neatest little town, or as the locals call it, "The Center of the Universe." I actually didn't live in the Town of Ashland, but in a nearby suburb of it called Elmont. But my address was Ashland and it only took about 5 minutes to reach the actual town.

I used to call Elmont a little rural enclave. It was PERFECT!
It was truly country-living with a horse farm within walking distance and just 1/2 mile from the railroad tracks. And yet,
Interstate 95 lay only about 4 miles to the East, so I could zip into downtown Richmond in about 20 minutes. I LOVED it there. I didn't miss city life at all. I remember the first
nights at my house, I finally understood what books were
talking about when they would speak about seeing things by

the light of the full moon. I had always seen things by the light of the street lamps in the city. And the stars! I couldn't get over how many more stars I could see.

And I used to love going into Ashland and walking along the railroad tracks. I loved the little local shops and the fact that a very nice college was also located in Ashland. It made the town more progressive.

And I think that the most favorite time of my life was from the time my daughter was born and through the early years of her Elementary school. I was a Brownie leader, a Girl Scout leader and a Cloverbud leader. I had SO MUCH FUN with the kids! We made our own homemade butter and we went on field trips to such places as llama farms and fire stations. We also went camping.....which one time was fun and the other time was "the camping trip from hell." It was too cold! But I wouldn't trade those memories for anything! Those years just went by too fast!

But at least I savored every minute of them while they lasted. And it really, really was hard to find the time. In 1988, I began my own tax/bookkeeping business. I had to work many long hours to help it grow. But I still took the time out to do things with Valerie, even though it meant that I had to stay up very, very late at night to finish up things. Ironically, technology and software have come so far over the past 10 years, that if I were doing now what I was doing then, it would only take me about half the time.

Just as DC has changed, Ashland is also in the midst of changing. When I moved there, the last stoplight coming from Richmond was at US 1 & Parham Rd, which was 5 miles down the road. The next stoplight was in Ashland. It was big news when Ashland got it's second stoplight. Now, however, there have to be at least 10 stoplights from US 1 & Parham and Ashland. Maybe more, I haven't counted. When I moved to Ashland, Virginia Center Commons did not exist, nor did many of the shops and stores that now dot Route 1.

The place where I boarded my horses which was just about a mile from my house is now a huge housing development and I think that the horse farm that was only 1/3 mile from my house has shut down. Elmont and Ashland are quickly being swallowed up by Richmond. Especially Elmont. Once water and sewer come all the way up to where my house sat, Elmont as I knew it, will be forever changed. Ashland, since it is a railroad town, will probably maintain it's air of separateness for a while, but if history holds true, it will be just a little pocket surrounded by city. At least that's what happened to the little towns in the DC area. I used to tell my daughter that SHE would still have pretty much the same Elmont when she graduated from high school as she did when she was born, but her children wouldn't.

But I shall always treasure my years there and I glad that they lie safe and secure in my treasure house of memories.