Page 22 - Devon Road

TOP 10 THINGS WE'LL MISS ABOUT LIFE ON DEVON STREET

1. Our neighbors. The first week we moved our neighbors hosted a welcoming brunch – it

was a beautiful late summer day. We had no idea what to expect and walked down the
street to discover children playing on lush green grass, mimosas, homemade ice cream
served by kids, a bunny in a cage and what would soon become a group of great friends
and neighbors. This felt like something out of a movie, really every day on Devon Road

feels that way. And yet there is also privacy and distance. It’s the perfect blend.

2. The life on Devon road for children. The same week we moved in our doorbell rang.
There were 2 girls from the house next door who asked if anyone wanted to play.

Olive, our daughter, was delighted but she was swimming in the pool with her brothers
and invited the girls to join. They said they had to run home to ask their mom. We did
not expect to see them again. 15 minutes they came back in bathing suits with goggles
on. Our girls have been inseparable ever since and we keep a near open door policy

with the children on the street. Even with social distancing, masks and all the other
challenges of COVID, Devon road provides an oasis for kids who have just enough
freedom to roam a short horseshoe shaped street with watchful parents who have an
eye at all times yet are not overbearing.

3. Watching the seasons change from a pool. We like to keep our pool hot, open it early
and close it late. We opened in April and swam while it was snowing, we watched the
buds growing, we watched the sky turn bright green with leaves and now those same

leaves are turning yellow, gold and brown. Where the pool is situated so that if you
float and look up, you really feel yourself drift away from the cares and upsets of life
and feel connected to the world, nature and each other.

4. Walking to the Beach. We moved when our 4 th youngest, Jack, was just over 1 year old.
He and Tod are the 1 st up every morning, usually very early. Since we moved to Devon
Road, if Tod is home, he will take Jack on a walk in the stroller (jogging stroller if Tod’s
feeling up to it) to the beach, usually Burying Hill beach but often they will go to others

including Compo, Sherwood Island and Southport. No matter the season Tod and Jack
will go to the beach, Jack will walk around, Tod will have a coffee and they come home
usually around the time we are waking up. Somethings they’ll even bring back
breakfast. The only times they do not go on this walk is if it’s raining hard or a blizzard.

When that happens they drive to the watch the weather in the car or walk in the sand.

5. Being Close to the Water (but not on it). We used to live across from the water near
Compo beach. We loved seeing the water, the birds, the sand, but grew nervous about

storms and flooding. What we found out is we prefer being close to the beach without
being in flood zone.