Magnolia’s in Purcellville on a quiet evening…yum.

~ Heather

It’s that time of year again. As I sit here typing this, with my morning coffee beside me, my son and my husband are at the second weigh-in and tryout for the Upper Loudoun Youth Football League.   This is Wil’s sixth season playing tackle football (he’s 12, soon to be 13), and he absolutely lives for it.  Who would have thought that my intellectual, somewhat bookish, computer game-loving son would be happiest strapping on shoulder pads and cracking helmets on the field?  I was certainly surprised.

I write about youth sports quite a bit here on LoCoMusings, not in small part because I have four kids that participate on varying teams in Loudoun.  My three girls all play softball (two within the Western Loudoun Girls Softball League, and one for the Loudoun Storm travel team), Wil also played lacrosse with Western Loudoun Lacrosse, and this year two of my daughters will play basketball with Western Loudoun Basketball in the winter.  One of the best things about raising a family in Loudoun is the smorgasbord of activities across the county that the kids can choose to participate in.

What my son and daughters have learned from their team experiences is how to work together with their teammates, a sense of camaraderie, and a quiet confidence (well, sometimes loud confidence, but still) that comes from doing your best and having success with it. You can’t put a price tag on seeing your child completely excited with their achievement, and proud of him or herself. Worth every moment spent in the stands to get there.

Football is a huge time commitment, not only for my son but for our family.  My husband helps coach, and practices (starting the second week of August) are every weeknight until school starts, then twice a week plus Saturday games through the fall.  What you see at the practices though, is the best of western Loudoun: families spreading out to watch, moms and dads chatting, little brothers and sisters playing together, picnic dinners.  For games, parents and siblings (and grandparents, too) dress in team colors and rattle cowbells to fire their boys up. True community, and I’m looking forward to it. I love being a football mom!

By the way, please mark your calendar for Upper Loudoun Football’s second annual Football Fest…it’s slated for Saturday, August 28th, at Loudoun Valley High School. There will be music, food, and exhibition games, and it’s the primary fundraiser for the league for the year.  Keep an eye on the league’s website for more details.

Cheers,

Heather

After a tremendous fundraising effort from the PTO, Emerick Elementary in Purcellville now has a snazzy new entrance sign. Pretty cool!

Cheers,

Heather

Cheers,
Heather

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only way that Dominion Power will be disrupting traffic in our area in the next few months. More concerning is their announcement that as they string the power lines along the new route, they will be “intermittently” stopping traffic on Route 7, causing major delays. As there are no other major roads coming in from the western part of the county, this is probably going to create a bit of a mess, unless they are careful how they time the closings.

Here’s the schedule of closings, as posted on Loudoun County’s website:

Traffic stops on Route 7 are expected to begin May 17. The tentative schedule is:

• May 17- June 4: Expect periodic traffic stops on Route 7 near the interchange at Hamilton Station Road in Hamilton
• June: Expect periodic stops on Route 7 near the interchange of Route 9
• July: Expect periodic stops on the Route 7 Bypass between Dry Mill Road and Route 15
• August-September: Motorists will experience the most delays in this time frame as workers string lines along Route 7 and the Bypass between Route 15 and River Creek Parkway.

According to a VDOT news release, the closings will be timed on Mondays between noon and 3:30 pm, Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm, and Fridays from 9 am to noon.

Cheers,

Heather