Rolling Valley Ward Get-Together

When people ask me where I'm from, I tend to give a variety of answers. My most common response is that I'm a military brat who moved around, but I mostly grew up in Virginia and New York. For those of you who don't know, I spent 7 years in each state, though neither was consecutive. But if I had to choose between the two, I would say that I'm from Virginia.

This is because each time that we moved to Virginia, we lived in the same house on Gillings Road (when we were gone on other assignments, my parents rented it out). For a military brat, it provided stability and a sense of home.

When we lived in Virginia, we were members of the Rolling Valley Ward. I loved our ward and the people in it. Over time, many of the members of the ward and/or their kids have moved out here to Utah. Some are going to BYU, some are going to other colleges, and some (like me) have finished school and are still living nearby.

Last night we had our second annual Rolling Valley Ward get-together. It's a gathering of the kids who were members of the Rolling Valley Ward at some point (because there are others like us who were there for a year here or a year there). My parents came up with the idea and have hosted it at their house each fall since they moved out here.

It was a lot of fun seeing everyone. There was quite a range of ages there, from college freshman up through those approaching their 30s. I had fun wandering from group to group catching up with people or just saying hello. I found myself in the unique position of being in the middle age-wise, so I knew everyone there. One of my highlights of the evening was goofing around with my brother Kenneth and throwing M&m's into his mouth.

I will always feel a special camaraderie with members of the Rolling Valley Ward. When I see them, it feels like coming home.