When we started sending in our law school applications I used to joke with John-Mark that we should just send in one- to WVU. I'm not sure why I seemed to know that this is where we'd end uup- maybe because it seemed fair. We've been four years in Provo, and it seemed appropriate to balance the scales by going back home. When I first visited the Atkinsons in West Virginia in 2007, my experience there showed me a unity that I'd never experienced before. From the way that his family loved eachother and seemed so content to lie on the living room carpet and play Skipbo, to the choruses at family barbeques of "Take me home, country roads": I was astounded that at times West Virginia seemed so removed from the rest of the world, but at the same time that was the way it should be. While it was initially strange to be part of the group rendition of "She'll be comin' round the mountain", it was a simplicity that I loved and instantly seemed familiar to me.
I think that Mom had the same experience when she visited West Virginia last August after we were married. After church on Sunday I found her in tears, surprised and moved by the love that was there- both in the ward and in the Atkinson family. I'm scared to move across the country to an unfamiliar place, but I'm learning to rely on my own experience rather than these fears. John-Mark's presence helps to bring peace to me, and I keep reminding myself that if West Virginia produced him, it can only do great things for me.
