Day 6 - The Echols Building

I have some great friends and this is their last name. Echols. It's a cool last name - and not one I've heard or seen anywhere else.

The months following my graduation from vet school found my life in a bit of a messy place. My best friend and I were in the midst of what I call our 'great divorce.' (Which thankfully is over and we are fully reconciled and lovely again.) I had no idea WHEN I was going to find a job much less WHERE I was going to find a job.  All of my belongings were in a cattle trailer, covered in a tarp, parked in my grandparents' barn. I was traveling around to different clinics all along the East Coast and doing phone interviews all over the country.

As I was job hunting, there were several folks who helped to act as my sounding board as I talked about the pros and cons of the various practices I was interviewing with. The Echols family was one of those. I had dinner with them the very night I returned from my trip to VA and my interview with Commonwealth Vet Clinic (where I have worked for the past 8 years.) They spurred me on to take this job, in fact, as they saw how excited I was about every aspect of what it had to offer. They are great friends to me. :)

I had a new apartment, a new job, a new dog.... and I longed for old friends. I was sad and lonely at times. I did my best not to have a pity-party and I routinely went out to explore the area on my days off - and one of those days, I found this!

I was walking around downtown Staunton, VA (just down the road from where I work in Fishersville) and spotted this building. I had my camera with me and snapped a couple of shots.

I was missing them. And somehow, knowing that there was a building in town with their name on it made me feel better. :)

Love to you all, Echols. Thanks for always being there for me.