This weekend was my favorite. The weather was perfect, the schedule was light, and the children were agreeable. While Graham took the kids to breakfast at Marie Bette on Saturday, I hit up the farmers market and saw the first few harvested pumpkins, a sign that autumn is right around the corner. This prompted me to run right out and buy a new fall candle, Pumpkin Butter, which is the yummiest scent I’ve found in a while and is 25% off through the end of the month at Wood Wick. That night we invited all the families from our bus stop over for ice cream in our cul de sac; it was a fun and easy way to meet our neighbors and get the kids together with their classmates. Best of all, several families offered to do something similar at their house next time, so we can keep strengthening relationships with the people who live near us.
On Sunday, we met up with friends at King Family Vineyard in Crozet, where the vineyard hosts a free family-friendly polo match every Sunday in the summer. We all decided we knew nothing about polo but still had a blast! Our community group friends have been our “people” for over two years now. In her book Friendtimacy author Shasta Nelson writes that three requirements of authentic, intimate friendships are positivity, consistency, and vulnerability. Graham and I feel so fortunate to have found a group of friends for which all three of these essentials are met, but this did not happen overnight. Establishing and maintaining close friendships take time. I guess you could say we were doing some “friendship maintenance” this weekend by choosing to come together over a sport we didn’t understand, fill our glasses with wine, and raise a toast to the end of the summer.
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