Powhatan, VA

After reminiscing about my 4th of July memories, it dawned on me that while talking about places where I used to live, I had never mentioned Powhatan, VA. That's because for the two years that I lived in Powhatan County, I always felt as though I was still living in Richmond, VA. And that's probably because I was only about 5 miles from one of the Richmond area malls and I always drove into Richmond everyday to go to work. I hardly

ever drove into Powhatan. I think that for the two years that I lived there I maybe drove there once and that was because I wanted to see what it looked like. Actually, Powhatan could hardly be called a town. The one thing that I remember the most was the Courthouse. Most of Powhatan was the county. It was a pretty rural area.

I lived in an absolutely wonderful house! I used to say why would I ever need to go to a resort? Everything that would be at a resort was at the house! Let's see, we had a pool, set beneath a huge bay window with a view looking out to the woods behind us. It was GORGEOUS!!! And then there were the fields for the horses, so that when I stepped out onto the deck, I could see them grazing in the field. The Powhatan house was without a doubt the nicest house I have ever lived in! Tom and I had thought about buying it when our lease was up (we had a 4 year lease), but unfortunately, the owner was going through a divorce and his wife got the house in the settlement and since she wanted to move in there, we had to move after only being there for two years. The lease had a clause wherein either side could end it as long as 3 months notice was given. So....there you go!

But thank goodness I got to experience it! And Christmas.....wow.....I was finally able to decorate a house for Christmas the way I had always dreamed of doing. It just looked spectacular with the lights and the evergreen boughs and the ribbons and a HUGE Christmas tree in the family room. And there was a fireplace in the room that we called the winter room where Tom bought special embroidered stockings for everyone to put up on the mantel.

Tom did some really nice things around that house. He converted an old shed into what I used to call the "best doghouse in the world" and he added a door to the deck so that the dogs could lie out there without me having to worry that they'd go off roaming. Oh, it was just sooo pretty!

But things always seem to happen the way that they should.....although a big part of me was sad to leave the house in Powhatan, after two years, another part of me was also relieved. I was just getting so tired. I was working two jobs then and it would take me at least 45 minutes to get to the first job in Richmond, and then the second job was in Ashland which was another 20 minute drive and I would finish up the second job around midnight and then it would take me another hour to drive home, so I'd arrive home around 1 AM and then I'd have to get up at 6 AM.

Once we moved, I was able to walk to the first job....in fact it was practically out my front door, and the trip home from Ashland after I finished the second job was sooo much quicker and easier. Luckily the second job was very relaxing even though I did a lot of work. I was by myself in the office and could work at my own pace. The move also made it easier on Valerie when she wanted to visit her Dad or her friends. So there you go!

I also found out that as nice as it is to have one's very own swimming pool, it is also a lot of work to keep it clean. I actually didn't mind the work. In it's own way it was relaxing to skim the leaves out of the pool, but it was time-consuming. And taking care of the horses, as much as I loved the work, was also time-consuming. Every morning I would have to get up to feed them and make sure that they had enough water, and then in the winter, when the water would occasionally freeze, I would have to lug fresh water from the house. It would take me at least eight trips. And I'd always have to be rushing because I had to get to work.

So although I will always love the memories of that wonderful house....it was the first year that was the best. My Mom was still alive and my job was to take care of her, so I rarely had to leave the house, but after she died was when the real rat race began. So again, things always seem to work out.