A Beautiful Month to Celebrate Memories at Home and in Alexandria
This month is typically crazy for our family, as I know many of us joke about Maycember, but THIS May is next level! I’m lucky to have two kiddos with May birthdays and we are used to a lot of fun parties but this week my oldest, Lilly turns 18 and we are hosting her graduation/birthday party!
I am thrilled to be hosting our dear friends and family from Michigan. And very thankful for the taco truck and party rental company making this event a bit easier as I am feeling all the feels and doing what we can to savor these special moments at home and in Alexandria with her.
We’ve been working to pull together a photo board of Lilly’s 18 amazing years and the thread throughout most of them are family, home, and Alexandria as we look back on all the memories. It is so unbelievable that just over 18 years ago we moved out of our apartment near Braddock Station and into the Del Ray Townhouse we resided in for nearly 14 years, followed by five years this month just down the parkway.
These priceless photo memories are ‘my why’ for designing homes in Alexandria. It’s for all the messy moments of real life lived in this city and each of our homes. The first and last day school photos on the front steps. The pancake mornings and pizza fridays. All the birthdays. Meeting new siblings, friends, family. For us, it was also the walks in Del Ray to the Dairy Godmother, Stomping Ground, St. Elmo’s, and Los Tios in the early years to now walks on the trail, many swim meets, workouts, and always lots of shopping and treats in Old Town. Alexandria is such a special place and one I’m grateful our family calls home.
And since I am fully embracing my proud Mama era I want to give a shout out to our graduate, Lillian! Being her Mom has taught me so much and it’s a gift to watch her grow and learn at every stage. Lilly is kind, beautiful inside and out, passionate, hardworking, a wonderful friend, a great team mom to all the girls on the cross-country and track teams at West Po, and always has a smile for you while she works at the Custard Shack. I also love that she’s been talking nonstop FOREVER (even if it did cause her some issues in kindergarten). She’s been singing full Taylor Swift lyrics since age two and a half, so it’s extra special that we will get to hear her give a speech to the West Potomac graduating class of 2024 at graduation in just a few days!
This fall as she heads to Virginia Tech, I hope she continues to use her voice to speak up for herself and others to make this world a better one. I also hope she knows and feels Alexandria is home always.
See Also: Building a Home With Heart and a Dream Team
