Your Arlington, your views

Arlington resident Mary Trvalik answers the questions with a decided “yes” in a lovely essay reposted from the Arlington e-mail list with her permission:

Rebecca Woodward asks:

> Do I love my street? Do I love my neighborhood?

Well, I have thought about your question for a few days now. At firstI was hesitant to reply. I was worried. Will this start a thread pitting one neighborhood against another? MY STREET IS BETTER THAN YOUR STREET. It’s only a few steps from there to the “newbie vs. townie” heart breakers that spin out of control on the larger Arlington list.

But so far the replies seem so civilized. I think I’ll chime in.

I live over here on Fairview Avenue, one of several streets off of Mystic Street, near the Bishop School. Fairview almost dead-ends at the lower Mystic Lake, save for a tiny private way, Mystic Bank, that connects Fairview, Draper, and Davis Avenues, making for a convenient way in and out of the neighborhood. Still, there isn’t much traffic.

There are many children of all ages on those three Avenues and the connecting private way. On Fairview, a street with eighteen houses, there are twenty-five children under the age of 18 - with the youngest being a set of twins just reaching their three-week birthday. There are several college-age siblings, as well. Good baby-sitting material, if you can get any of their time.

I don’t know if the numbers are as high on Draper or Davis, but I imagine they are close.

The school-age children mostly go to Bishop, but there are kids at St. Agnes and other private schools as well. The kids don’t seem to throw up any walls about this, and they all cross paths at Church or Temple or Hockey or Soccer or Baseball or you get the idea.

It’s nice in the morning on a school day, because the Bishop kids walk to school, and there is a steady stream of children and Moms and Dads headed to the crosswalk. In a pinch, you can shoo yours out the door, and they can catch up with friends. Mine and my neighbor’s kids form a gang and make a great hullabaloo along the way. The crossing guard knows each and every child by name, and worries if someone is missing. She never fails to ask after the one who is at home sick for the day.

Every year in the fall, Fairview has a Block Party, and we invite a few interlopers from the other two streets. The parents all grumble about how much WORK it is, and how BUSY we all are, and then we proceed to make delicious foods to share, and have a grand old time visiting with one another for hours into the cool of the evening. The kids do Arts and Crafts and have a Bike Parade and jump themselves silly in a moonbounce and drink too much soda while no one is looking. We are a pretty social group.

Once, long ago, we thought about moving. We thought about moving to one of those towns with BETTER SCHOOLS. We thought about moving to a house with MORE THAN ONE BATHROOM. We thought about moving to a place with a BIGGER YARD. But we didn’t move, thank the Heavenly Lord.

Instead we voted for an override and volunteered in the schools and walked to the parks and, now, even as we speak, there is a giant twelve-foot-deep hole in my backyard where the addition will go that will hold TWO NEW BATHROOMS. One of them will only be for Mom and Dad. I can hardly wait.

And we will continue to live in this wondrous neighborhood, in this magical town that feels so much like a throwback to a 1950’s place that maybe never existed. We can walk or ride a bike to most anywhere. We haul a dozen books to and from the library every three weeks - a library that is jaw-dropping beautiful inside and out. We play basketball, softball, and baseball. We sled down the hills and skate at the rink and run from the mean old geese at spy pond. We have our favorite Chinese, our favorite Pizza, our favorite salon, our favorite five-and-dime, our favorite ice cream, our favorite STEEP HILL TO DRIVE UP AND DOWN IN THE CAR, our favorite view, our favorite shortcuts, our favorite spot to view the parade, and our favorite spot to view the fireworks and NO YOU CAN’T HAVE A GLOW IN THE DARK NECKLACE THIS YEAR EITHER.

We have all made friends that will last a lifetime, friends that we laugh with, cry with, even the kind of friend one can call at 4:30 a.m. when something goes awry in the middle of the night. You can’t pay money for this. It’s a gift, and I am thankful every single day that somehow I was fortunate enough to receive it.

We are certified newbies - have only lived in this place for fifteen years. But we have planted our roots, and the family tree, so far, is thriving. We are staying for the long haul.

Wish I could tell you of a house for sale nearby. But here is the really nice thing - I don’t think we have a GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD MONOPOLY. If you find a home that will work, I would bet a dollar to a doughnut (as my Dad always says) that you will find a neighborhood that will work too. My only suggestion is to invest of yourselves in your neighborhood and your town as though it were treasure, and treasure it will indeed become.

Best of luck to you!

Mary T.