#irishillsfarm #virginia

When I was in grade school, maybe 1st or 2nd grade, a new girl joined our class. She was exotic, from Switzerland, and we didn’t have any foreign students until Ursula arrived. We became friendly, and she invited me over to her house.

I felt exotic too, coming home from school and quoting her words to my mother, “Ursula lives in the Swiss chalet by the park.” Honey, there is no Swiss chalet by the park, was her response.

When I was dropped off for the playdate, we were greeted by Ursula with a “Yoohoo!” from one of the balconies. It didn’t happen often in my childhood, and it really hasn’t happened much in the years since either, but that day my mom was forced to eat her words.