An outing to Charlottesville, VA

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Tom writes: We took advantage of an open weekend to visit Charlottesville, VA. Two of the town's attractions are Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, and the University of Virginia, which also was Jefferson's creation. During our tour Monticello, we heard a fair amount about who Jefferson was as a person. Particulary impressive was how he treated his children and grandchildren. In an age when children normally found themselves unwelcome, Jefferson insisted that they be part of all family meals and gatherings. It was said that he had a way of learning the secret desires of the children and delighted in making them come true. He later remembered his married years as ones of "unchequered happiness" and deeply mourned his wife's death. In all, he struck me as someone I could relate to and who I would have enjoyed knowing.

So that was the culturally edifying part of the trip. On a more personal level, I found the brief excursion and excellent break from a rather stressful set of projects at work. The change of scenery and routine provided a chance to step back from daily concerns, gain some perspective, and return refreshed. I became a big fan of such outings about a year after Lisa and I broke up. I was still having a hard time letting go of her when my friend Peter and I went camping one weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains. As we slept out in our tent, I had a dream that helped me let go of some of my attachment to Lisa and move on. It would have taken many more months of my regular routine to have achieved that. Fortunately, I never did fully move on - Lisa and I just needed some more water to go under the bridge before our time came around again.

Comments

Heidi Totten said…
I went to Charlottesville a few times but only to Monticello once. It was a cool place - wish I could have stayed longer.
9:42 PM
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