When my Fresh Air daughters arrive each year, time seems to stop as the magic of their visit begins. This is my 6th year as a host family. Being part of the girls’ growing up, in strobe-like intervals, has been an exceptional, enriching experience for me as I know it has been for them. As much as they have become part of my family, as one of the mothers said recently, “Peggy, you’re part of our family.”
As host families soon discover, we not only become family but we are ambassadors between communities, sharing and learning from each other. The riches of the Monadnock Region, with its woods and mountains, lakes, bike paths, and ice cream just to name a few, create a truly magical time in these urban youngsters’ lives. Thank you to all our host families who open their homes and hearts to these wonderful kids. And thank you to our generous businesses and organizations for extending a big “Welcome” with discounts: Friendly Farm, Toadstool Bookstore, Ava Marie’s Chocolates, Peterborough Players, Mariposa Museum, Bagel Mill, Kimball Farm, Athens Pizza House, Jaffrey Pizza Barn, Rousseau’s Music, and Northfield Drive-In.
You help make our Monadnock towns truly “Fresh Air Friendly Towns.” To learn more about the Fresh Air Program, please visit the website, www.freshair.org. To participate in our merchant welcome program, contact me at p.ueda@yahoo.com.
Peggy Ueda
Jaffrey