"Someone who didn't do things half-heartedly" -Eva + Eric B

I remember my first child's first day of kindergarten, gathering in the classroom with other parents. Vanessa looked striking, dressed all in white, white pants and shirt, white hair. She stood by the wall, while some of us sat on tiny chairs, and she raised her hand to ask some tough and insightful questions of our new teacher, Mrs. Weinstock. I didn't know her yet, but I was impressed with her keen attention to kindergarten matters! She stood out to me as someone who didn't do things half-heartedly : ) Soon I had a chance to get to know her, as our daughters became good friends, and Vanessa and Steve became two of our favorite parent-friends. We'd meet and chat at many events: playdates, soccer days, Girl Scouts days, school plays and concerts. Vanessa, with her love of Hastings, convinced me to fight for some local causes in which I would never have gotten involved if it wasn't for her. This was wonderful, because although my husband and I weren't born in Hastings like Vanessa, we loved it here and our children were born here. Becoming versed in village matters was part of our putting down roots in the community. Blink… and 13 years had flown by. The HHS graduation was bittersweet - a day of tremendous joy and achievement, yet a big change in our children-centric lives. I wanted to hold on to the people that my daughter and I had been such good friends with for so long. Since then, many more years have come and gone. Although we're all still in Hastings, we didn't see each other enough afterwards! But we can always remember with much love the times we shared raising our daughters. I've continued to admire Vanessa and enjoy each beautifully written email that occasionally came my way with village and Democratic Party updates. In conclusion, last but not least, I’m forever grateful to Vanessa for forgiving me that I kept secret the fact that we found termite damage while remodeling her house and didn’t tell her until she returned from the family vacation. I figured that sometimes even Vanessa, who was always working, deserved a break!

Eva + Eric B